1956 Austin-Healey 100 M ‘Le Mans’

After the Austin-Healey 100’s impressive debut at the 1952 Motor Show, two slightly modified versions were entered into the 1953 Le Mans 24-Hour Race, finishing in 12th and 14th places. This was a commendable performance for production sports cars.

To capitalize on this success, Austin-Healey dealers offered a “Le Mans” bolt-on tuning kit, allowing private owners to upgrade their cars to a similar specification as the race entries. The kit included 1¾” SU HD6 carburetors, a special inlet manifold, a cold air box, a high-lift camshaft, stronger valve springs, and a distributor with an alternative ignition advance curve. These modifications increased power from 90 to 100bhp.

From October 1955, the conversion could be factory-fitted on the BN2 model, creating the 100M. In addition to the Le Mans kit, the 100M featured high-compression pistons, a stiffer front anti-roll bar, special Armstrong front dampers, and a louvered bonnet.

These enhancements boosted power to 110bhp, and the top speed, with the windscreen folded flat, approached 120mph. While the exact number of BN1s converted by owners is unknown, 1,159 cars—mostly BN2s—were built or modified to 100M specification between 1955 and 1956, with approximately 640 completed at the factory and 544 exported to the USA.

Photos by Darin Schnabel courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Comments

No comments yet. Why don’t you start the discussion?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *