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Austin-Healey 100/4 BN1 Coupé - the rarity from Belgium

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Created on September 18, 2020

Reading time 6min

Written by:

Bruno von Rotz

Photos:

Bonhams

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Courtesy Bonhams

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Archiv

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Bonhams

24

Courtesy Bonhams

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Archiv

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Austin-Healey 100/4 BN1 Coupé (1954) - mit der tiefen Gürtellinie war der Wagen sehr übersichtlich

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Austin-Healey 100/4 BN1 Coupé (1954) - man muss schon genau hinschauen, um zu sehen, dass hier ein Coupé und kein Roadster mit Hardtop steht

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Austin-Healey 100/4 BN1 Coupé (1954) - das Coupédach ist mit der Karosserie verschweisst, die Seitenscheiben können versenkt werden

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Austin-Healey 100/4 BN1 Coupé (1954) - die Frontansicht zeigt die fest montierte Frontscheibe, die eigens für die sechs Coupés angefertigt wurde

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Austin-Healey 100/4 BN1 Coupé (1954) - Heckansicht zeigt die grosse Coupé-Scheibe

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Austin-Healey 100/4 BN1 Coupé (1954) - die Integration des festen Dachaufbaus ist gelungen

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Austin-Healey 100/4 BN1 Coupé (1954) - auffällig die eleganten Türöffner, die beim Coupé natürlich nötig waren

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Austin-Healey 100/4 BN1 Coupé (1954) - optisch sehr gelungen

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Austin-Healey 100/4 BN1 Coupé (1954) - schneller als der Roadster dürfte das Coupé nicht gewesen sein

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Austin-Healey 100/4 BN1 Coupé (1954) - nur geringe Unterschiede zum Roadster, allerdings Kurbeln für die Seitenscheibenbetätigung

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Austin-Healey 100/4 BN1 Coupé (1954) - Smiths-Armaturen, Tacho bis 200 km/h

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Austin-Healey 100/4 BN1 Coupé (1954) - strikt zweisitzig

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Austin-Healey 100/4 BN1 Coupé (1954) - Standard-Vierzylinder

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Austin-Healey 100/4 BN1 Coupé (1954) - kaum Unterschiede zu einem normalen Roadster

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Austin-Healey 100/4 BN1 Coupé (1954) - Markenzeichen auf dem Bug

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Austin-Healey 100/4 BN1 Coupé (1954) - klassische 100-Signatur

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Austin-Healey 100/4 BN1 Coupé (1954) - eigene Varianten-Bezeichnung

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Austin-Healey 100/4 BN1 Coupé (1954) - grosszügig verglastes Coupé

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Austin-Healey 100/4 BN1 Coupé (1954) - die Heckscheibe besteht aus Plexiglas

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Austin-Healey 100/4 BN1 Coupé (1954) - keine hinteren Scheibenführungen für die Seitenscheiben

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Austin-Healey 100/4 BN1 Coupé (1954) - Herstellerbenennung

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Austin-Healey 100/4 BN1 Coupé (1954) - Abbildung in einem zeitgenössischen Magazin und das Heritage Trust Zertifikat

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Blick in die Messehalle des Automobilsalons von Brüssel im Jahr 1955

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Austin-Healey Hundred (1952) - Leonard Lord und Donald Healey mit dem frisch präsentierten Sportwagen

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Austin Healey 100 (1952) - man beachte, dass der Wagen vorne noch mit Healey Hundred beschriftet ist, hinten aber bereits mit Austin-Healey 100

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Austin Healey 100 (1952) - Leonard Lord lässt sich von Donald Healey den Wagen erklären an der London Motor Show

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Austin Healey 100 (1953) - frühes Modell

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Austin Healey Hundred (1953) - Interieur

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Austin Healey 100 (1954) - am Genfer Autosalon 1954, mit aufgespanntem Dach

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Austin Healey 100 (1954) - Interieur, aufgenommen vermutlich in Paris oder Turin

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Austin-Healey 100 (1955) - Chassis an der Earls Court Motorshow 1955

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Austin-Healey 100/100 S Coupé (1953)

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Austin-Healey 100/100 S Coupé (1953)

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Summary

The Austin-Healey 100 was that British roadster with a four-cylinder engine, plug-in windows and minimal comfort, wasn't it? Yes, but there were exceptions, one of which was built in Belgium and was a coupé. Presented at the 1955 Brussels Motor Show, it was the prototype for a series of six cars, two of which have survived. This report is about the show car, tells its story and shows it in many pictures.

This article contains the following chapters

Presented in London
Sporty, but without a roof
Several coupé attempts
The Belgian variant
From bodywork to car construction
Innovative approaches
One saloon, five racing
Survived and completely restored
More coupés

Estimated reading time: 6min

Preview (beginning of the article)

The Austin-Healey 100 was that British roadster with a four-cylinder engine, plug-in windows and minimal comfort, wasn't it? Yes, but there were exceptions, one of which was built in Belgium and was a coupé. The Austin-Healey 100 was shown for the first time at the London Motor Show in Earls Court in October 1952. As a reminder, here is a quote from the Salon report in the Automobil Revue: "With the new sports model, which only received its combined name during the first days of the London show and of which only a few prototypes currently exist, England has a new high-performance vehicle whose low price of 850 pounds (excluding VAT) has caused surprise. This was mainly due to the simple basic design and the use of unchanged Austin series parts such as the A90 engine and gearbox, steering and front suspension. The chassis, consisting of welded longitudinal beams and reinforced with a cross brace, is particularly torsionally rigid thanks to an associated torpedo. The rear axle, which is guided by long semi-elliptic springs and a Panhard transverse stabilizer, corresponds to the so-called underslung design, in which the longitudinal chassis members are located under the rear axle. The 2.66-liter four-cylinder engine delivers 91 brake horsepower at 4000 rpm, but can rev much faster. The four-speed gearbox is supplemented by the Laycock-De-Normanville high-speed gearbox, and in this version the prototype reached 180 km/h during tests on the Belgian Jabekke-Aeltre road. The two-seater, open roadster body is one of the most beautiful ever designed in sports car construction and is in no way inferior to even the sleekest Italian models. Nevertheless, the interior width is very generous. Special mention should be made of the windshield, the lower edge of which can be pulled forward, allowing the windshield to rest almost horizontally on the body and act as a wind deflector ."

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