Page 45 - The Origin of the Species

THE ORIGIN OF THE SPECIES 45
Endnotes
1
Healey recalled in an interview with a club magazine
that the deal with Lord was sealed with a handshake,
lubricated by alcohol and built on mutual trust, recalling
“… after too many dry martinis we shook hands. There
was never any other agreement between us.” Although
the terms were later confirmed by letter, Healey is correct
in that there was no formal contract, which would cause
problems down the road.
2
“The car was the star of the show from the moment it
was wheeled on to the stand,” reported The Birmingham
Mail, “but the tie up with Austins gave it increased
importance. Placards were brought out to-day to notify the
change of name, and Healey salesmen were surrounded
by visitors with questions to ask about the future of this
fast and handsome sports car. They could not answer any
of them.” Over 3000 orders were received during the
course of the London Motor Show, an impressive figure
considering that fewer than 1000 cars had ever been built
up to that point at Warwick.
3
The arrangement with Austin provided Healey with
enough confidence in the future to secure a fourth
building at Warwick that fall. It housed the Experimental
Department and two small offices for Geoffrey Healey and
Roger Menadue. The 19 pre-production 100s were built
in this building. With the Roger’s ‘Tin Shed’ vacant, it
became home for the paint shop, while Brian (Bic) Healey,
who had just arrived to create the sales organisation, had
an office at the front of the original hanger.
4
The ranks of special test cars swelled in 1954 with the
addition of another four more examples, three intended
for competition and one reserved for record-breaking
work.
5
In the race history published on the website of Hyman
Ltd., Lockett is incorrectly identified as Lockhart.
6
Geoffrey Healey, Healey: The Specials. (1980) p. 86.
According to Healey, “this was the fourth Special Test
Car, the (false) plates being used to enable it to be driven
on public highways.”
7
These performance figures are taken from Road & Track
Road Test No. F-11-55. Autorsport reported different
figures, with acceleration from 0-60 mph in 9.8 seconds
and a 121.6 mph top speed. Having considerable personal
experience with the 100S, I can state that it feels much
faster than a 100M, going about its business in an entirely
different fashion, mostly due to the nimble handling and
the powerplant’s superior tractability.
8
It is interesting to note that Geoffrey Healey wrote in The
Healey Story on page 76 that “I am not able to say with
absolute certainty which vehicle was used for the [1954
Sebring 12-Hours], but I think it was one of the new
1954 cars, OON 441, which became the one that Lance
(Macklin) liked and used most frequently.” Also note that
this statement disputes Jarick’s contention that the 1954
Mille Miglia car was SPL 226B (NOJ 393).
9
Originally, Donald Healey was going to call the limited
run of improved 100s the 100 Mille Miglia, but the
impressive showing at Sebring inspired him to use that
name instead.
10
Geoffrey Healey, The Healey Story. (1996) pp. 79-80.
This account is consistent with the fact that the vehicle
had been disassembled in late 1954 to repair the damage
suffered during the fatal accident at the Tour de France.
11
During a time when motorsports represented a
competition between nations as well as manufacturers,
Italian spectators were known to look down the road
during the Mille Miglia to ascertain the colour of an
approaching vehicle. For cars liveried in a hue other than
red, these overenthusiastic partisans would stand in the
road or place stones in their path, hoping to impede
their progress, furthering the prospects of the Italian
competitors.
12
The privateer racing history of this vehicle can no doubt
be further developed, but the resources devoted to this
current effort do not permit a detailed examination of
that record.