HEALEY TALES
Although my favourite marque has always been Lotus, I have to admit to a life-long soft spot for Austin-Healeys even though in many ways they’re almost the complete opposite of the ideals originally set down by Lotus founder, Colin Chapman. Big Healeys are often labelled as the “handsome brute” for good reason, and if you ever get the chance to be behind the wheel of one of these iconic sports cars you’ll understand exactly what’s meant by that term.
As I look back through some of my most memorable drives, while they include plenty of Lotus cars, I can recall with some clarity a series of exceptional drives in Austin-Healeys, with the cherry on the top being an afternoon spent in the Upper Hutt region with a genuine Austin-Healey 100S. That was a real thrill, as was a drive around Tauranga in a gorgeous ’55 3000 MkIII. Then there was the time I chanced my arm showing a colleague exactly what a Frogeye Sprite could do, despite its less than supercar horsepower. That drive brought with it a mighty grin factor, especially while indulging in some rather ‘naughty’ antics such as drifting around roundabout.
Sure, I’ve been lucky enough to drive loads of exotic cars but there’s something about an Austin-Healey that I’ve always found hard to resist, and I’m not the only one. Many years ago, I remember chatting to Ross Jensen about the 100S he raced back in the ‘50s, and he was equally as enthusiastic about Healeys.
Then there’s the oft told tale of how I almost ‘lost’ a photographer during a photo session at Pukekohe Park Raceway in early 1998. In order to catch a dynamic shot of the cars, our intrepid cameraman was perched on the roof of a station wagon driving ahead of the Healeys. However, the driver of the wagon got a little too enthusiastic while negotiating the hairpin and almost ditched the photographer who was forced to hang on for grim life – but, full of steely determination, he still snapped the ‘money’ shot! By sheer coincidence, some 35 years later, that very same photographer – Stephen Perry – was on hand to snap the Healeys featured in this edition. This time around, as we’re all rather longer in the tooth and far less flexible, we opted for a safer and less scary photo-shoot!