Barn Find Rare Healey Racer Set To Star At Auction

A RARE British sports car will be offered in Silverstone Auctions’ two-day sale at the forthcoming Silverstone Classic race meeting on July 26th and 27th. Fittingly the car is a 1950 Healey Silverstone, one of just 105 ever built.

The car was hand built at the Donald Healey Motor Company factory in Warwick and was designed to be equally at home on the road or racetrack. Continuing the tradition of good value British sports cars, Healey decided to make a high performance car that was under £1,000, following the Government’s decision to double the purchase tax on luxury cars over that value.

Powered by a modest 104 horsepower 2.5-litre Riley engine, the car proved highly competitive in a number of events including a class win in the 1949 Alpine Rally driven by Healey himself.

This E-Type example, estimated at between £160,000 and £180,000, boasts an interesting history having been discovered lying dormant in a garage where it had been since the early 1980s. Over the past two years it has been the subject to a complete restoration.

Commenting on the sale, managing director of Silverstone Auctions, Nick Whale, said: “This is one very special car that is steeped in history and it’s a delight to be offering it for auction at its namesake. Hopefully we will see it back on a racetrack soon.”

Conveniently, the sale of “LLR 267” comes just in time for the marque’s 70th anniversary in 2015.

By Press Association reporters