The
Austin-Healey 100 was the car that introduced the Austin-Healey
Marque. This very British sports car used an Austin A90 engine and modified Austin A90
gearbox, and its all-steel body was mounted on a steel
box section chassis. In 1955 improvements were made
to the car which included a four-speed overdrive gearbox,
a more highly tuned version of the A90 engine, and a
louvered bonnet. This car was sold as the 100M. The
remaining standard 100 versions were also fitted with
the 4-speed overdrive gearbox in 1955. A remarkable
performance in the 1953 Sebring 12-hour race by a special
100 led to the S (Sebring) version being produced in
1954. These cars featured aluminium bodywork, alloy
cylinder head and all round disc brakes. Only 50 S versions
were produced. Demand for the 100 remained strong throughout
its production and over 14500 cars were built.
It was replaced by the 100/6 in October 1956. It is
worth noting that Austin-Healey models are sometimes referred
to by their factory designations and these appear in
brackets in the table below.