New Zealand GP 100

The 1953 Austin Healey ready to race in New Zealand.



A restored 1953 Austin Healey that raced in the 1954 New Zealand Grand Prix is going on public display in the UK.
The car, which has been in storage for 34 years, has undergone a nine-year restoration and is being targeted to compete in historical events throughout 2016.
The Healey 100/4 BN1, on loan from owner Paul Roberts, will make its worldwide public show debut at Race Retro in Warwickshire on February 26-28.


The 1953 Austin Healey racing in New Zealand.



It is one of three works cars that were sent to take part in the second ever NZ GP on January 9, 1954. The first NZ GP was held at Ohakea Air Force base in 1950 and not held again until 1954 and this time at Ardmore aerodrome south of Auckland.


This Healey is a rare survivor of the era of racing when sports cars would compete against single-seaters; on the starting grid at Ardmore was Jack Brabham's Cooper-Bristol MkII, a works-entered supercharged BRM V16, a pre-war Alfa Romeo Monza and various locally built specials.
Only 14 cars were able to endure the 200-mile (320 km) event, but all of the factory Austin-Healeys completed the 100 laps. Keith Roper drove this 100/4 to 13th place beating Peter Whitehead's Ferrari 125 in the process.
Roper next took the wheel of the Healey at the CWF Hamilton Trophy Race at Mairehau on February 20, 1954 where he achieved third place. The 100/4's final New Zealand event was the Havelock race meeting where the Healey recorded a record speed of 100mph (160 kmh) in the flying quarter-mile event; the only other car to do so was a Jaguar XK120.
Car 145426 was sold in October 1954 and after passing through various owners, was placed into storage in 1971 where it remained for the next 24 years. Restoration commenced in 2005, and the 100/4 returned to the UK in 2014.
Today the Carmine Red 100/4 looks in every detail the way it did when it left the factory in October 1953, with an original chassis, body and engine and 16-inch racing wheels.
Sam Thomas Racing has recently prepared the Healey to compete in Historical Events and throughout 2016, it will be taking part in race meetings at the highest level including the Monaco Grand Prix;

Source: https://www.stuff.co.nz/motoring/customs-classics/76728232/restored-nz-grand-prix-austin-healey-to-make-worldwide-show-debut

Race Retro sounds like a fun event. Another event to add on the "things to do when I'm planning a trip to the UK" list. It's funny how many comments I get from my Aussie (and a few New Zealand) relatives when I tell them I have a Healey. They all seem to have a Healey story.

Sounds like the Grand Prix was a pretty interesting event run as a Formula Libre with entrants such a Maybach special, BRM, Cooper-Bristol, and Ferrari: https://www.sergent.com.au/motor/1954.html The three Healeys finished 7, 12 and 13. In the late 70s I saw the BRM V16 race at Donnington. It's a sound I'll never forget:

Rick, Thank you for sharing the sound clip...now that's what I call a 16 piece concert!

That's from an era when cars sounded like cars , a phenomenal piece of engineering way ahead of its time .

Healey Nut said:

That's from an era when cars sounded like cars , a phenomenal piece of engineering way ahead of its time .

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I totally agree, They are real pieces of engineering art so beautiful just to look at, let alone listen to.

It is a rare thing to see a Big Healey on a race course, much less up toward the front. Rick Maloumian, who drives a red over white 100, is blindingly fast. At some events my Courier and his Healey are in the same group and it is a pleasure to see him, esp. when I can keep him in sight.

drambuie said:

I totally agree, They are real pieces of engineering art so beautiful just to look at, let alone listen to.

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There's something very special about the sound of old F1 cars . I did some more surfing and found clips of Damon Hil and David Coulthard driving Jim Clark/Graham Hills Lotus 25 designed by the brilliant Colin Chapman . It had a similar BRM V16 configuration engine and was the first ever monocoque designed car .
The sound of F1 cars today just isn't right ....they sound like oversized high power leaf blowers not high performance cars .
Bring back some of the older cars and the grandstands would be packed to overflowing in my opinion .

If you are interested in learning more about the BRM V16 I recommend Tony Rudd's book "It Was Fun" (Patrick Srephens Limited. 1993). Rudd indicates that the engine would never have been successful and listening to Rick's clip you will note that there is a misfire. They never eliminated that. After one go, Fangio wouldn't drive it again and Moss didn't think much of of it either. The problem seems to have been the centrifugal supercharger. The faster it spun the more boost it provided. The more boost, the more power the engine made which made the supercharger spin faster, and so on. It would spin the wheels at the car's top speed!

Healey Nut said:

The sound of F1 cars today just isn't right ....they sound like oversized high power leaf blowers not high performance cars .
Bring back some of the older cars and the grandstands would be packed to overflowing in my opinion .

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I agree, today's cars sound terrible. But i think they need to get rid of Bernie if they want to see packed grandstands!

Anyway, here are some others of my favorite, the Matra V12:


The howl this motor made at top revs was spine tingling:

Standing at pit out at the USGP at Indy, one could get very close to the cars. Launch control would make for some very exciting starts as the engines were held on the revs. Here's an example

HealeyRick said:

Standing at pit out at the USGP at Indy, one could get very close to the cars. Launch control would make for some very exciting starts as the engines were held on the revs. Here's an example

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That is way better than the oversized leaf blowers they have in F1 now but is still not an old BRM or ERA etc
A number of years ago I attended the Montreal F1 race and got to stand in the main grandstand at the start . I had ear plugs in and fingers pressing them in to block the noise . The noise of 26 F1 cars at full throttle waiting for the green light makes the stands vibrate and your heart pound in your chest , you feel the sound of those cars pedal to the floor screaming to get away , never to be forgotten .

My other F1 memory was during the same race . Prior to the race starting I was wandering round checking out the scenery absorbing the atmosphere and me being British heard the very distinctive British accent which I instantly recognized as 5 time Le Mans winner Derek Bell . I couldn't see him due to the crowd and me being not that tall but I knew who it was by the voice .
He was doing the same thing , just wandering and of course chatting with fans answering questions posing for pics etc . I chatted with him for a while a true gentleman .
It was a great day on Illes Notre Dame for sure that day .