1956 Austin-Healey 100 M 'Le Mans'
- Engine
- Inline-four, race-prepared unit by Dennis Welch Motorsport (original engine included in sale)
- Colour
- Reno Red
One of only 640 factory-built Austin-Healey 100 M 'Le Mans' models, this 1956 example — chassis 232304 — was completed in May 1956 in Reno Red and shipped new to Chicago, Illinois. The 100 M model grew directly from the company's successful 1953 Le Mans programme and incorporated the same engine and chassis upgrades offered through the Le Mans modification kit. Spending decades in Alabama before moving to the UK in the late 1990s, the car was subsequently prepared for historic competition by Dennis Welch Motorsport, with a race engine, gearbox, competition fuel tank, and uprated suspension fitted. The original engine is retained and accompanies the car.
Ownership
- —Auction saleSold £97,750 (≈ $122K)
- 1956 → 1997Acquisition unknownAlabama-based owner or ownerspartial documentation
Car resided in the US state of Alabama from new until 1997, when it left the country.
- 1997 → 2010Private saleUK-based owner prior to consignorpartial documentation
Acquired the vehicle shortly after it was brought from the USA to the United Kingdom.
- 2010 →Private saleCurrent consignorfull documentation
Commissioned Dennis Welch Motorsport to prepare the car for competition, fitting a race engine, gearbox, upgraded suspension, and competition fuel tank; original engine retained and included in the sale.
Competition
- 19531953 Le Mans 24 Hours12th and 14th overall
Two lightly modified production Austin-Healey 100s entered; their performance in a field of purpose-built machinery prompted a factory performance upgrade kit.
- 20112011 Spa Six Hours
Car was prepared for this event by Dennis Welch Motorsport, including fitment of a race engine and gearbox, though it ultimately did not compete.
Maintenance & restoration
- 2010ModificationDennis Welch Motorsport
Dennis Welch Motorsport installed a race-specification engine and gearbox, a competition fuel tank, and uprated suspension to prepare the car for historic racing. The original engine was retained and set aside.
Work was commissioned by the consignor upon acquisition in 2010 in preparation for the 2011 Spa Six Hours.
- —ServiceValoroso Race and Restoration Services
A light recommissioning was carried out ahead of the auction sale.
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