Amid all the glitter and glamour of Pebble Beach is a concours with its own version of G&G, mixed with a large helping of Italian brio. I am, of course, talking about Concorso Italiano, probably the largest gathering of vintage Italian machinery in North America. Held on a golf course spread over the hills east of Monterey, Concorso Italiano also offers spectacular views of the ocean and beaches beyond (should you need a visual diversion from the equally spectacular cars). I attended Concorso in 2006 for the first time and left with my head spinning as I attempted to photograph the cars, the fashion show, the elegant Riva speedboats, row upon row of contemporary Ferraris and Lamborghinis, and an entire field full of sports cars and sport sedans that (gasp!) came from countries other than Italy.
When the 2007 Concorso show opened your reporter had other responsibilities and couldn't attend the Monterey classics week. However I'm delighted that the Concorso Italiano organisers e-mailed a "thank you" to those who were there (and one who was not) and included a photo gallery of the cars and events. The image that immediately caught my attention (above) is a Nash-Healey, an attempt by American automaker Nash to team with England's Donald Healey, the objective being a car that would raise Nash's profile. Where's the Italian connection? Pinin farina was the designer and his company the bodymaker. But wait… weren't all Nash-Healeys roadsters? This is a 1953 coupe! If you can add to our knowledge, or lack of same, please use the "comments" box below. Gracie.
[Photos: Tim Scott at www.fluidimages.co.uk]
In the mid 40s, WWII had just ended, and service men and women were coming home and bring with them something that was new to America, sports cars from Europe. Donald M. Healey (DMH) was building a Riley powered sports car called the Healey Silverstone. This car was doing well in races on the Continent and caught the attention of Briggs Cunningham. DMH was commissioned to build a Healey Silverstone with a new engine from America, a Cadillac engine. This car was very successful and DMH wanted to purchase additional engines from General Motors, so he took a trip to America on the Queen Mary. Looking back into history, this trip would turn out to be an important event in the continuation and success of DMH’s car company.
In a chance meeting aboard the Queen Elizabeth, DMH would meet George Mason, the President of the Nash Motor Company. DMH shared that he was on his way to see if he could secure engines from General Motors for the Healey Silverstone. Mr. Mason offered engines if DMH was unsuccessful with GM. Mason knew that having a “sports car” with the name Nash on it would be a nice addition to the Nash Family of cars. It was through this meeting that the Nash Healey was born. It was also through this meeting that a long-term friendship was established. This chance meeting would turn out to be profitable for both men.
A 102” wheelbase prototype designed by DMH was constructed using a body provided by Panel Craft of England. A 234.8-cubic-inch (3.8. litre) high-compression 6-cylinder Nash Ambassador engine was fitted with an aluminum head and two 1¾” S.U. Carburetors. A three speed manual transmission with Overdrive was standard. The prototype was shown publicly for the first time at the Paris Automobilc Show in early fall of 1950. Production of the Panel Craft bodied Nash Healey began in late 1950 and continued until March 1951 in Warwick, England. The Nash Healey was built in England, but was for export only to the United States, and a total of 104 Roadsters were built. Some people think that the 1953 Corvette made by Chevrolet was the 1st American Sports Car. The Nash Healey beat it by 2 years. From April 1951 until January 1952, the Nash Healey was not made.
1950 was the first entry of a Nash-Healey at Le Mans. It finished the 24 hours in 4th. In 1951, a Nash Healey finished 6th. Two special-bodied Nash Healeys entered and qualified to race at Le Mans in 1952. One dropped out due to engine troubles, the other finished, beating out cars by Aston Martin, Cunningham, Ferrari and Lancia. Only two factory prepared Mercedes-Benz 300SL coupes completed more total miles in the 24 hours than the Nash Healey.
Also in 1952, the Nash Motor Co. had acquired the services of Pinin Farina of Turin, Italy to redesign the body for the Nash and Nash Healey. The Nash Healey was truly an international car. The engines were manufactured by Nash at the Kenosha, Wisconsin plant, and then shipped to England where it was installed in the chassis with the “trailing link” front end suspension. The chassis and engine were then shipped to Turin, Italy were they were married to the custom hand built body by Pinin Farina. The new Nash-Healey was shown for the first time at the Chicago Automobile Show in February, 1952. Only 150 Pinin Farina bodied Nash Healey Roadsters were built that year.
1953 saw the addition of a longer 108 inch wheelbase hardtop coupe named the Le Mans. This was done to honor the fact that the Nash Healey placed 2nd in the 1952 Le Mans Race. Only 162 Nash Healeys were built in 1953, 62 of them being the new Le Mans Hardtop. It was also during this year, that the engine was increased to a 258.6-cubic-inch (4.1-litre) and the 2 S.U. Carburetors were replaced with 2 HY Carter Carburetors. The 1953 Nash-Healey Hardtop, also known as the Le Mans Hardtop won first place at the 1953 Italian International Concours D’elegance held at Tresa, Italy.
December 15, 2007 @ 4:04 pmIn 1954 the roadster was no longer being produced and the Le Mans Hardtop went through some minor restyling. Less than 100 cars were built. Production costs were higher than the price for which Nash was able to sell the car in the states, and production stopped. Only 506 Nash Healeys were made between December 1950 and August 1954.
As I mentioned before, this chance meeting aboard the Queen Elizabeth turned out to be profitable for both DMH and George Mason. In the book, Donald Healey My World of Cars, DMH shared that his company in the late 40s was in financial troubles and the teaming up with Nash allowed him to get out of debt and to make the Healey 100. For George Mason, the meeting led to a friendship that one day allowed him to be introduced to Len Lord, President of Austin Motorcar Company. George Mason reached an agreement with the Austin Motorcar Company to produce the Nash Metropolitan.
The Nash Healey also has a history on the big & little screen. There have been a few movies where a Nash Healey can be seen, the most famous is the movie Sabrina (1954) staring Humphrey Bogart, Audrey Hepburn and William Holden. And for those that use to watch The Adventures of Superman, Clark Kent (aka Superman), he also drove a Nash Healey. It’s pretty cool owning the same make of car that Superman chose to drive.
In 2005, a 1952 Nash Healey was the oldest of the five cars selected along with a 1953 Chevrolet Corvette, a 1953 Studebaker Starliner, a 1953 Kaiser Darrin and a 1953 Ford Thunderbird to appear on The America on the Move 50s: Sporty Cars commemorative postage stamps by the U.S.P.S.