I just noticed that a Healey that has been the subject of considerable controversy over the years is once again being offered for sale price on inquiry. The car is described by its seller as an "Austin Healey factory development prototype (X300). One of one in the world. Special competition and development components include: unique Austin Healey body; one-off Austin Healey chassis; four wheel disc brakes; De Dion rear end with axle shafts and telescopic hydraulic shock absorbers anchored to a Watts linkage; competition steering wheel; unique dash with special gauges; 25 gallon competition fuel tank." The most visually distinctive features of the car are its dual headlights mounted in pods.
The listing can be found here:https://oxfordmotorcars.com/vehicles/89/1960-Austin-Healey-X300-Prototype.
A little research revealed considerable discussion, documentation and controversy surrounding this car dating back to the early 1980s as far as I was able to determine. Of note is a letter from Geoff Healey (1983) to one David Matthews in which Geoff disputes the car's claim to authenticity, citing the fact that the earlier four-headlight prototype Healey known as X230 was sent to the breaker yard after it was determined that it was not going to go into production. GH states the engine and drivetrain were sold to an American and the rest of the car was (thought) to have been destroyed. Matthews writes that after his research and discussions with GH he believed that the front shroud and wings may have been salvaged and later were used by someone to build another version of the earlier car and fender flares were added. The evidence seems to suggest this later car, while possibly an item of interest to Healeyphiles, was almost certainly not X230, and was likely also not the product of factory workshops. Considerable documentation can be found here: https://www.wwah.org/wa_p6.htm. I also seem to recall an article on the prototype in Healey Marque a couple of years ago. I can't get my hands on my Marque library at the moment but will post a subsequent note if I can find it.
The listing can be found here:https://oxfordmotorcars.com/vehicles/89/1960-Austin-Healey-X300-Prototype.
A little research revealed considerable discussion, documentation and controversy surrounding this car dating back to the early 1980s as far as I was able to determine. Of note is a letter from Geoff Healey (1983) to one David Matthews in which Geoff disputes the car's claim to authenticity, citing the fact that the earlier four-headlight prototype Healey known as X230 was sent to the breaker yard after it was determined that it was not going to go into production. GH states the engine and drivetrain were sold to an American and the rest of the car was (thought) to have been destroyed. Matthews writes that after his research and discussions with GH he believed that the front shroud and wings may have been salvaged and later were used by someone to build another version of the earlier car and fender flares were added. The evidence seems to suggest this later car, while possibly an item of interest to Healeyphiles, was almost certainly not X230, and was likely also not the product of factory workshops. Considerable documentation can be found here: https://www.wwah.org/wa_p6.htm. I also seem to recall an article on the prototype in Healey Marque a couple of years ago. I can't get my hands on my Marque library at the moment but will post a subsequent note if I can find it.