Editing Donald Healey

{{Short description|English car designer, rally driver and speed record holder}}
{{For|the American football player|Don Healy}}
{{EngvarB|date=April 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2015}}
{{Infobox person
| honorific_prefix          = 
| name                      = Donald Healey
| honorific_suffix          = CBE
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| image                     = <!-- just the name, without the File: or Image: prefix or enclosing [[brackets]] -->
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| birth_date                = {{Birth date|df=yes|1898|07|03}}
| birth_place               = Perranporth, Cornwall, England
| disappeared_date          = <!-- {{Disappeared date and age|YYYY|MM|DD|YYYY|MM|DD}} (disappeared date then birth date) -->
| disappeared_place         = 
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| death_date                = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1988|01|13|1898|07|03}}
| death_place               = Duchy Hospital, Truro, Cornwall
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| education                 = Newquay College, Cornwall
| alma_mater                = 
| occupation                = Car designer, rally driver
| years_active              = 
| employer                  = 
| organization              = Triumph Motor Co<br>Donald Healey Motor Co<br>Healey Automotive Consultants
| agent                     = 
| known_for                 = Car designs
| notable_works             = Winner Monte Carlo Rally 1931
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| spouse                    = Ivy Maud James
| partner                   = <!-- unmarried life partner; use ''Name (1950–present)'' -->
| children                  = 3
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'''Donald Mitchell Healey''' [[Order of the British Empire|CBE]] (3 July 1898 &ndash; 13 January 1988)<ref>{{cite news |author1= |title=Donald Healey; Sports Car Designer, 89 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/01/17/obituaries/donald-healey-sports-car-designer-89.html |url-access=subscription |access-date=1 April 2024 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=17 January 1988 |page=1 34}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.freebmd.org.uk/cgi/information.pl?cite=zjnbsONHSRQckjASfmMRbQ&scan=1|title=Index entry|accessdate=5 April 2021|work=FreeBMD|publisher=ONS}}</ref> was a noted English car designer, [[rally (sports)|rally]] driver and speed record holder.

== Early life ==

Born in [[Perranporth]], Cornwall, the elder son of Frederick (John Frederick) and Emma Healey (née Mitchell), who at that time ran a general store there, at an early age Donald Healey became interested in all things mechanical, particularly aircraft. He studied engineering while at [[Newquay College]].<ref name=APB>Anne Pimlott Baker, ''Healey, Donald Mitchell (1898–1988), car designer and rally driver'', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, OUP 2004</ref> When he left, his father bought him an expensive<ref name=DH1/> apprenticeship with [[Sopwith Aviation Company]] in [[Kingston upon Thames]], Surrey, and he joined Sopwith in 1914<ref name=TT62979>Mr Donald Healey. ''The Times'', Saturday, 16 January 1988; pg. 10; Issue 62979.</ref> continuing his engineering studies at Kingston Technical College. Sopwith had sheds at the nearby [[Brooklands]] aerodrome and racing circuit.

Barely 16 when [[World War I]] started, he volunteered for the [[Royal Flying Corps]] (RFC) in 1916, before the end of his apprenticeship,<ref name=DH1>page 11, Geoffrey Healey, ''Austin Healey, the story of the big Healeys'' Gentry Books, London 1977 {{ISBN|0-85614-051-1}}.</ref> and earned his "wings" as a pilot.  He went on night bombing raids, served on anti-[[Zeppelin]] patrols, and also as a flying instructor. Shot down by British [[anti-aircraft]] fire on one of the first night bombing missions of the war,  he was invalided out of the RFC in November 1917 after a further series of crashes,<ref name=TT62979/> and spent the rest of the war checking aircraft components for the Air Ministry. Following the [[Armistice of 11 November 1918|Armistice]], he returned to Cornwall, took a correspondence course in automobile engineering, and opened the first garage in [[Perranporth]] in 1920.<ref name=APB/>

Donald Healey married Ivy Maud James (d. 1980) on 21 October 1921 and they had three sons.<ref name=APB/>

== Triumph ==
[[File:Triumph.Dolomite.Roadster.jpg|thumb|Triumph Dolomite]]
Healey found rally driving and motor racing more interesting than his garage and its car hire business and used the garage to prepare cars for competition. He first entered the [[Monte Carlo Rally]] in 1929 driving a [[Triumph Super 7|Triumph 7]] but in 1931 Donald Healey won the Monte Carlo Rally driving a 4½-litre [[Invicta (car)|Invicta]]<ref>''Motor Sport'', February 1931, Pages 182–183.</ref> and was [[Monte Carlo Rally#1930–1949|2nd overall]] the next year. Now in demand as a competition driver he sold the garage business, moved to the Midlands to work for [[Riley (car)|Riley]] but soon moved to the [[Triumph Motor Company]] as experimental manager. The next year he was made technical director and responsible for the design of all Triumph cars. He created the [[Triumph Southern Cross]] and then the [[Triumph Dolomite (1934–1940)#Dolomite Straight 8|Triumph Dolomite 8]] straight-eight sports car in 1935 following his class win, and 3rd overall, in the 1934 Monte Carlo Rally in a Triumph Gloria of his own design<ref name=APB/> —the previous year a train demolished their Dolomite on a foggy level crossing miraculously sparing Healey and his co-driver.<ref name=TT62979/> Triumph went into liquidation in 1939 but Healey remained on the premises as works manager for H M Hobson making aircraft engine carburettors for the Ministry of Supply. Later in the war he worked with [[Humber Limited|Humber]] on armoured cars.<ref name=APB/> Donald Healey was keen to begin making his own cars, planning post-war sports cars with colleague and chassis specialist Achille Sampietro.<ref name=TT62979/>

==Donald Healey Motor Company==
In 1945 he formed with Sampietro and [[Benjamin Bowden|Ben Bowden]] the [[Donald Healey Motor Company]] Ltd basing its business in an old [[Royal Air Force|RAF]] hangar at [[Warwick]].<ref name=APB/> Their first cars were expensive high quality cars.<ref name=DH2>page 23, Geoffrey Healey, ''Austin Healey, the story of the big Healeys'' Gentry Books, London 1977 {{ISBN|0-85614-051-1}}.</ref>

===Healey Elliot===
Healey's first car appeared in 1946, the Healey Elliot, a saloon with a Riley engine, developed by Dr J.N.H Tait. Following his Triumphs it won the 1947 and 1948 alpine rallies and the touring class of the 1948 [[Mille Miglia]].<ref name=APB/>
<gallery class="center">
File:Healey Elliott Saloon 2.jpg|Elliott
File:Healey Westland 1949.jpg|Westland
File:1947 Healey Sportsmobile 7438346386.jpg|Sportsmobile
File:Healey Roadster April 1951 2443cc.jpg|Silverstone
File:Healey with Tickford 4-seater body registered April 1953 2443cc.JPG|Tickford 2-door saloon
</gallery>

===Healey Silverstone===
{{Main|Healey Silverstone}}
Next was a high-performance sports car, the Silverstone which appeared in 1949 and was so successful it led to an agreement with an American company Nash Motors.<ref name=APB/>
{{clear}}

==Nash==
{{main|Nash-Healey}}
[[File:1952 Nash-Healey Le Mans lightweight.JPG|thumb|right|Scale model of the lightweight Nash-Healey entered in the 1952 Le Mans 24-hour race]]
In 1949, Healey established an agreement with [[George W. Mason]], the president of [[Nash Motors]] to build Nash-engined Healey sports cars. The first series of the 2-seaters were built in 1951 and they were designed by Healey with styling and aerodynamic input from Benjamin Bowden. The same all-enveloping theme was used by Bowden on the [[Zethrin Rennsport]] one year later. The [[Nash-Healey]]'s engine was a [[Nash Ambassador]] 6-cylinder, the body was aluminium, and the chassis was a [[Donald Healey Motor Company|Healey Silverstone]]. However, [[Pininfarina]] restyled the bodywork for 1952 and took over the production of its new steel body.

A Nash-Healey was driven by Donald Healey at Le Mans in 1950. Team members Duncan Hamilton & Tony Rolt's car finished 4th overall after suffering serious mechanical damage when hit from behind by a brakeless Delage. Donald Healey also drove a Nash-Healey in the [[Mille Miglia]] 1950 to 1952. He finished 1st in class in over 2000cc open category and was presented with the Franco Mazzotti Trophy Coppia Del Mille Miglia. Co driving with Nash.<ref name=APB/>
{{clear}}

==Austin-Healey==
[[File:1955-austin-healey-archives.jpg|thumb|Austin-Healey 100M]]
{{Main|Austin-Healey}}
So far the Healeys had all been expensive. Donald Healey wanted to produce a comparatively inexpensive sports car with 100&nbsp;mph performance. He developed the [[Austin-Healey 100]] using an Austin instead of the Tait developed Riley 2.5-litre engine and gearbox displaying it first at the October 1952 Earls Court motor show in London. The Morris-Austin merger had brought on BMC's decision to phase out the (Morris) Riley unit. His new factory, Cape Works, could not supply the demand so instead the Austin-Healeys were manufactured under a licensing arrangement by [[British Motor Corporation]] at their Longbridge works. A total of 74,000 Austin Healey 100s were built, more than 80% for export.<ref name=APB/>

At that time Nash and Austin were working together on the project which became their [[Austin Metropolitan|Metropolitan]]

==Healey Automotive Consultants==
Donald Healey formed a design consultancy in 1955, one of the results was the [[Austin-Healey Sprite]] which went into production in 1958.<ref name=APB/>

==Jensen-Healey==
[[File:Jensen-Healey.jpg|thumb|Jensen-Healey 1972–1976]]
The production arrangement with BMC ended in 1967.<ref name=APB/> In 1970 Healey became chairman of [[Jensen Motors]] with the enthusiastic backing of key US based [[Austin-Healey]] distributors.<ref name=Autocar197004>{{cite magazine| authorlink = Peter Garnier (Ed) | title = News and Views: Donald Healey is Jensen Chairman|magazine=[[Autocar (magazine)|Autocar]] | volume =  132 (nbr 3869)|page=30|date = 9 April 1970}}</ref> This was a long and fruitful relationship for Healey, in part because Jensen had been making body shells for [[Austin-Healey 100|Austin-Healey]] since the 1952 demise of the similar [[Austin A40 Sports]]. Healey's first project with a Jensen was re-engineering the [[Jensen 541S]] with a V8 engine in 1961, the resulting car being a personal favourite of Healey's.<ref>[[Classic Cars (magazine)|Classic Cars February 1995]]</ref> Ten years later, Healey helped design the [[Lotus 900 series#907|Lotus]] engined [[Jensen-Healey]] together with [[Lagonda]] designer [[William Towns]], to replace the Austin-Healey, which BMC were discontinuing.

He designed this new Jensen-Healey using [[Vauxhall Motors|Vauxhall]] running gear and prototyped it using Vauxhall and Ford engines, which either had insufficient power, did not fit the sloping bonnet, or were unable to comply with the [[Emission standard#Vehicle emission performance standard|emission standards]] set in place in USA.<ref name=APB/>   Ultimately, he settled on the all-aluminum 4-valve, twin overhead cam [[Lotus 907]]<ref name="LammEdsall2011">{{cite book|author1=John Lamm|author2=Larry Edsall|author3=Steve Sutcliffe|title=365 Sports Cars You Must Drive|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nrenCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA181|date=15 November 2011|publisher=Motorbooks|isbn=978-0-7603-4045-5|page=181}}</ref>

He resisted offers from [[Saab Automobile|Saab]] and Ford to produce a new sports car.<ref name=APB/>

== Later life ==
[[File:DSCN0947TrebahHouse.JPG|thumb|Trebah]]
He bought the {{convert|27|acre|ha}} [[Trebah]] Estate, near Falmouth, Cornwall in 1961 and carried out many ambitious projects there, including the building of commercial greenhouses to grow orchids and a project to build air/sea rescue inflatables.  He demolished the concrete covering of the beach of [[Polgwidden Cove]] (a D-Day invasion launch-pad) and used the salvaged material to surface a steep track from the house to the beach. (Hibbert, 2005).  He sold Trebah in 1971. His son, [[Geoffrey Healey|Geoffrey]], born in 1922 and a former pupil of [[Warwick School]], wrote several books about the cars and one about their partnership (see below).
[[Image:Plaque on Healey Memorial.JPG|thumb|right|Plaque describing and explaining Donald Healey Memorial at Trebah Gardens]]
Donald Healey died in [[Truro]] at the age of 89. A memorial window in St Michael's Church Perranporth was provided by the Austin-Healey Club of America.<ref name=APB/> The Austin Healey Club<ref>[http://www.austin-healey-club.com/ Austin Healey Club]</ref> has also placed a small monument, in the form of a sports car, and an inscribed plaque, as a memorial to Donald Healey, next to the Visitor Centre in the garden of Trebah which is now open to the public.

His obituary in ''The Times'' reported that Healey was a small rotund man with a flashing smile and that he kept himself immensely fit, and had been, in his day, an expert water skier.<ref name=TT62979/>

== Recognitions ==
* In 1962 he received the Médaille de l'Éducation Physique et des Sports (1ère Cl.) in [[Monaco]].
* For his "services to export", Healey was made a Commander of the [[Order of the British Empire]] (CBE) by [[Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom|Queen Elizabeth II]] in 1973.<ref name=fame>[http://www.motorsportshalloffame.com/halloffame/1996/Donald_Healey_main.htm Donald Healey, Inducted 1996, International Motorsports Hall of Fame, undated] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080827163250/http://www.motorsportshalloffame.com/halloffame/1996/Donald_Healey_main.htm |date=27 August 2008 }}, retrieved on 3 July 2008.</ref>
* In 1996, he was inducted into the [[International Motorsports Hall of Fame]].<ref name=fame/>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Donald Healey}}
* [http://www.healeyclub.org Austin-Healey Club of America]
* [http://www.healey.org Austin Healey Club USA]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Healey, Donald Mitchell}}
[[Category:1898 births]]
[[Category:1988 deaths]]
[[Category:British automotive pioneers]]
[[Category:People from Perranporth]]
[[Category:English rally drivers]]
[[Category:Brighton Speed Trials people]]
[[Category:International Motorsports Hall of Fame inductees]]
[[Category:British automobile designers]]
[[Category:British founders of automobile manufacturers]]
[[Category:Commanders of the Order of the British Empire]]
[[Category:World Sportscar Championship drivers]]
[[Category:20th-century English businesspeople]]
[[Category:Carrera Panamericana drivers]]