West Side Stories

We love the subdued and delightfully 1940s shape of the Healey Westland. You don’t see one being offered for sale too often, so when there are three on the market at the same time it's worth taking notice, we think. Let’s have a look at these cars, which were so significant for Donald Healey, bringing him success both in motor sports and in establishing himself as a motor manufacturer of quality and distinction.

 

 

The first of them is a 1947 roadster, bronze in colour and offered for sale in the Netherlands. An ex-California car which came over to the Low Lands in 1999, it has been restored since arrival and subsequently entered in a number of historic rallies, including six Mille Miglias. To prove it, it still has all the decals pasted prominently along its sides, but if it were up to us they'd go straight in the bin...

 

 

Another roadster, the second is a 1948 car in white with a red interior, which somehow found its way to a neighbouring Low Country; it is for sale in Belgium. It was restored in England from 2009 to 2012 and has covered just 4,300 miles since. A large chunk of that mileage was also added to the clock through historic rallying - yes, it’s another modern Mille Miglia participant, with two of them to its name, and the stickers once again prominently displayed as trophies.

 

 

Last in line is the rarest by far: a shooting brake of 1948 vintage in a very dignified green. The body was originally fitted to the chassis by coachbuilder Hobbs of London - proprietor Hector Hobbs happened to be a Healey racer before the war - and it's one of just two survivors. Found in Scotland years ago, it has been fully restored and is now “probably the fastest woodie on the road today.” This car doesn’t have the words ‘Mille Miglia-eligible’ plastered all over its advertisement, and the price is considerably lower than that of the other two, probably for that very reason. It's our favourite of the three by far.

 

Words by Jeroen Booij