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Austin-Healey 100 BN1 – performance on a budget

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Created on April 10, 2026

Text:

Bruno von Rotz, translated by DeepL

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Bruno von Rotz

59

Archiv

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Bruno von Rotz

59

Archiv

18

Austin-Healey 100 BN1 (1955) - the roadster takes around 12 seconds to accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h

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Austin-Healey 100 BN1 (1955) - little lateral inclination in curves

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Austin-Healey 100 BN1 (1955) - consumes around 10 to 14 liters per 100 km

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Austin-Healey 100 BN1 (1955) - safe driving characteristics despite simple construction

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Austin-Healey 100 BN1 (1955) - with a width of only 152.4 cm, it also fits on narrow country roads

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Austin-Healey 100 BN1 (1955) - feels very dynamic thanks to its low weight

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Austin-Healey 100 BN1 (1955) - only a few cars 70 years ago offered a power-to-weight ratio of around 10 kg per hp

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Austin-Healey 100 BN1 (1955) - the "100" (or Hundred) stands for the top speed of over 100 miles per hour

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Austin-Healey 100 BN1 (1955) - easy to drive

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Austin-Healey 100 BN1 (1955) - Driving pleasure was the order of the day with the Healey even 70 years ago

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Austin-Healey 100 BN1 (1955) - the Brookland racing disks were retrofitted

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Austin-Healey 100 BN1 (1955) - the large four-cylinder engine offers plenty of torque

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Austin-Healey 100 BN1 (1955) - ideal for winding country roads

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Austin-Healey 100 BN1 (1955) - thanks to overdrive, the rev level is low in all situations

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Austin-Healey 100 BN1 (1955) - runs over 160 km/h fast

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Austin-Healey 100 BN1 (1955) - the elastic engine makes country road driving a pleasure

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Austin-Healey 100 BN1 (1955) - you sit comparatively far back

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Austin-Healey 100 BN1 (1955) - you don't really need much to enjoy maximum driving pleasure

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Austin-Healey 100 BN1 (1955) - doesn't get in the way even in residential areas

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Austin-Healey 100 BN1 (1955) - is quieter than you would first expect

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Austin-Healey 100 BN1 (1955) - where is the door handle? There is none, but a wire pull inside

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Austin-Healey 100 BN1 (1955) - you sit low in the Healey, but you still get enough of the surroundings

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Austin-Healey 100 BN1 (1955) - classic design elements on the British roadster

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Austin-Healey 100 BN1 (1955) - the windshield can be lowered if you want even more air

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Austin-Healey 100 BN1 (1955) - the compact body is pleasing from every angle

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Austin-Healey 100 BN1 (1955) - narrow and flat

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Austin-Healey 100 BN1 (1955) - the rear axle is rigid

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Austin-Healey 100 BN1 (1955) - when the exhaust was not yet a design element

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Austin-Healey 100 BN1 (1955) - ready to go

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Austin-Healey 100 BN1 (1955) - pleasing from every perspective

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Austin-Healey 100 BN1 (1955) - a trunk accessible from the outside was not a matter of course in those days

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Austin-Healey 100 BN1 (1955) - the elegant body was designed by Gerry Coker and built by Jensen

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Austin-Healey 100 BN1 (1955) - the Moto-Lita steering wheel covers the main instruments

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Austin-Healey 100 BN1 (1955) - the arrow in the center indicates where to look for the hood opening

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Austin-Healey 100 BN1 (1955) - four round instruments provide information

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Austin-Healey 100 BN1 (1955) - the hub does not turn

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Austin-Healey 100 BN1 (1955) - open glove compartment

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Austin-Healey 100 BN1 (1955) - you sit low and well protected in the Healey

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Austin-Healey 100 BN1 (1955) - Smiths speedometer up to 200 km/h

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Austin-Healey 100 BN1 (1955) - Smiths tachometer, the red pointer marks the recommended maximum speed

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Austin-Healey 100 BN1 (1955) - clipped first gear results in a three-speed gearbox with an unusual shift pattern

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Austin-Healey 100 BN1 (1955) - the engine comes from the Austin A90

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Austin-Healey 100 BN1 (1955) - clearly arranged and easily accessible

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Austin-Healey 100 BN1 (1955) - with two SU carburetors resulting in around 90 hp

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Austin-Healey 100 BN1 (1955) - longitudinally mounted four-cylinder engine

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Austin-Healey 100 BN1 (1955) - hood as a sculpture

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Austin-Healey 100 BN1 (1955) - the radiator grille of the early versions (BN1 and BN2)

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Austin-Healey 100 BN1 (1955) - the number "100" is also visible on the radiator grille

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Austin-Healey 100 BN1 (1955) - 15-inch spoke wheels

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Austin-Healey 100 BN1 (1955) - Ventilation of the engine compartment

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Austin-Healey 100 BN1 (1955) - Leather strap to secure the hood

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Austin-Healey 100 BN1 (1955) - leather frame looks wonderfully nostalgic

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Austin-Healey 100 BN1 (1955) - small rear-view mirror on the fender

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Austin-Healey 100 BN1 (1955) - thin windshield frame

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Austin-Healey 100 BN1 (1955) - surprisingly large trunk, which also accommodates the spare wheel

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Austin-Healey 100 BN1 (1955) - lettering on the rear

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Austin-Healey Hundred (1952) - Leonard Lord and Donald Healey with the newly presented sports car

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Austin Healey 100 (1952) - note that the front of the car is still labeled Healey Hundred, but the rear is already labeled Austin-Healey 100

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Austin Healey 100 (1952) - Leonard Lord and Donald Healey sit happily in the new sports car at the 1952 London Motor Show

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Austin Healey 100 (1952) - Leonard Lord has Donald Healey explain the car to him at the London Motor Show

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Austin Healey 100 (1953) - detail view, taken at the London Motor Show

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Austin Healey Hundred (1953) - Interior

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Austin-Healey 100 (1955) - Chassis at the 1955 Earls Court Motor Show

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Austin Healey Hundred (1953) - rear close-up damping

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Austin Healey 100 (1953) - early model

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Austin Healey 100 (1953) - at the Geneva Motor Show, before the start of the visit

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Austin Healey 100 (1955) - View of the four-cylinder BN2, the predecessor of the BN4, at the 1955 London Motor Show

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Austin Healey 100 (1953) - with Zurich license plates

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Austin Healey 100 (1954) - Interior, probably taken in Paris or Turin

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Austin Healey 100 (1954) - at the 1954 Geneva Motor Show

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Austin Healey 100 (1954) - at the London Motor Show with hardtop, in the background the new 100 S, which did not go into production until 1955

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Austin Healey 100 (1954) - at the 1954 Geneva Motor Show, with the roof up

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Austin-Healey 100 (1952) - Front and side view of the A90 Austin four-cylinder engine

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Austin-Healey 100 (1952) - Three-speed gearbox in side view

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Austin-Healey 100 BN1 (1955) - long hood, short rear - this is what sports car dreams look like

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Austin-Healey 100 BN1 (1955) - verbaucht rund 10 bis 14 Liter pro 100 km

Austin-Healey 100 BN1 (1955) - sichere Fahreigenschaften trotz einfacher Konstruktion

Austin-Healey 100 BN1 (1955) - mit nur 152,4 cm Breite passt er auch auf schmale Landstrassen

Austin-Healey 100 BN1 (1955) - fühlt sich dank tiefem Gewicht sehr dynamisch an

Austin-Healey 100 BN1 (1955) - ein Leistungsgewicht von rund 10 kg pro PS boten vor 70 Jahren nur wenige Autos

Austin-Healey 100 BN1 (1955) - die "100" (oder Hundred) stehen für die Höchstgeschwindigkeit von über 100 Meilen pro Stunde

Summary

When Donald Healey designed the "Hundred", he already had relevant experience. This was evident in the sports car presented in 1952. Thanks to the collaboration with Austin, the Austin-Healey 100 could be sold at a reasonable price, which, together with its basic speed and attractive body line, made it the favorite of entire generations. This driving report tells the story of the first Austin-Healey and shows it in historical and current images.

This article contains the following chapters

High-speed driving in the prototype
Only three forward gears
Aimed at the American market
Can still impress today

Estimated reading time: 8min

Preview (beginning of the article)

The Austin-Healey 100 is quite compact, especially if you apply modern standards. It is 383.5 cm long, 152.4 cm wide and has a wheelbase of 228.6 cm. Even a first-generation Mazda MX-5, which is actually smaller, is around 15 cm larger in terms of dimensions, and this with an even slightly shorter wheelbase. But back then, when the Austin-Healey 100 was shown to the public for the first time, this was not an issue. After all, it was primarily the performance in combination with the price that was of interest. Incidentally, the comparison with a Mazda MX-5 created almost 40 years later is not entirely far-fetched, as both were committed to the British roadster tradition and offered an easy-to-maintain four-cylinder engine as a drive. But even with all the technical improvements of the 1960s to 1980s, it would probably not be so easy for an MX-5 to overtake the Austin-Healey 100.

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Images of this article

Austin-Healey 100 BN1 (1955) - verbaucht rund 10 bis 14 Liter pro 100 km

Austin-Healey 100 BN1 (1955) - sichere Fahreigenschaften trotz einfacher Konstruktion

Austin-Healey 100 BN1 (1955) - mit nur 152,4 cm Breite passt er auch auf schmale Landstrassen

Austin-Healey 100 BN1 (1955) - fühlt sich dank tiefem Gewicht sehr dynamisch an

Austin-Healey 100 BN1 (1955) - ein Leistungsgewicht von rund 10 kg pro PS boten vor 70 Jahren nur wenige Autos

Austin-Healey 100 BN1 (1955) - die "100" (oder Hundred) stehen für die Höchstgeschwindigkeit von über 100 Meilen pro Stunde

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