Right now at Beverly Hills Car Club we have a stunning example, an extremely limited edition and therefore rare 1953 Nash-Healey Le Mans Coupe by Pinin Farina, finished in Cream over a Red interior. Produced in very limited numbers, only 62 Le Mans Coupes were built for 1953, making this one of the most uncommon Nash-Healey models. The coupe featured a one-year-only Pinin Farina body design and was built as a more refined closed version of the Nash-Healey sports car.

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Power comes from Nash-Healey’s 252.6 CID (4.1L) Le Mans Dual Jetfire inline-six with overhead valves, paired with the distinctive engine presentation associated with this model. The exterior features the rounded Pinin Farina bodywork, curved windshield and rear glass, forward-mounted chrome mirrors, front-hinged hood with raised center section, and the characteristic Nash grille with integrated headlamps. The Cream exterior is complemented by red-accented 15-inch steel wheels, chrome hubcaps, and Dunlop blackwall tires. A full-size steel spare is mounted flat in the trunk floor well.

Inside, the red interior retains the period character of the Le Mans Coupe with a bench seat, banjo-style steering wheel, glove box, push-button radio, fender-mounted antenna, and floor-mounted manual shifter with a wooden shift knob. The combination of cream and red gives the cabin a distinctly 1950s appearance.

The Nash-Healey has an interesting international history: Nash supplied the mechanical components, Healey developed the chassis and running gear, and the bodies were constructed by Pinin Farina in Turin, Italy. The Le Mans name also traces back to the Nash-Healey racing program, including its third-place overall finish at the 1952 24 Hours of Le Mans.

With only 62 examples built for 1953, this Nash-Healey Le Mans Coupe offers a rare combination of Pinin Farina styling, Nash-Healey engineering, and a direct connection to the marque’s Le Mans history. Its distinctive design, limited production, and Cream-over-Red color combination make it a unique choice for anyone looking for something outside the usual 1950s sports cars. This limited-production Nash-Healey is mechanically sound.

Donald Healey was a British aircraft and automobile engineer who became a rally driver, piloting a variety of marques. In 1934 he became Technical Director for the Triumph Motor Company, responsible for the design of all Triumph cars until 1939, when the company was liquidated. During the war years Healey began planning a high performance car, envisioned as a revival of the Triumph, for the post-war market.

Accordingly, the Donald Healey Motor Company was founded in 1945, focused on producing high-quality, high-performance cars which were inevitably expensive.

The cars mainly used a tuned version of the proven Riley twin-cam 2.4-litre four-cylinder engine in a light steel box-section chassis of Healey design using independent front suspension by coil springs and alloy trailing arms with Girling dampers.

The rear suspension used a Riley live axel with coil springs. The suspension design allowed soft springing to be combined with excellent road handling. Lockheed hydraulic brakes were used.

When it was introduced in post WW2 1948, the Elliott Saloon was claimed to be the fastest production closed car in the world, timed at 104.7 mph over a mile.

UK government planning and controls in this time period required any substantial expansion of production to be for the export market alone. So in 1950 Healey entered the North American market with the Nash-Healey, the car we presently have, using a Nash Ambassador engine with SU carburettors and Nash gearbox.

Initially the Ambassador’s 3848 cc engine was used, but when in 1952 body construction was transferred from Healey to Pininfarina the larger 4138 cc engine was fitted.

Working with his eldest son Geoffrey in the attic of the family home, Healey designed a two-seat roadster employing numerous low-cost Austin components, the Healey Hundred. Austin chief Sir Leonard Lord was so impressed when he saw it on the Healey stand at the 1952 Earls Court Motor Show he offered to make it in his own factories under the name Austin-Healey 100.

The result was a 1953 a joint venture which created the Austin-Healey marque with the British Motor Corporation manufacturing the cars and the Healey company doing the designs and running racing operations. The 100 evolved into the highly regarded and collector coveted 3-litre Austin-Healey 3000, and the diminutive 950cc Austin-Healey Sprite, known affectionately as the ‘frog-eye’ or ‘bugeye’ was also manufactured.

Commenting on the 3000 after Donald Healey’s death The Times observed:

‘The big Healey’s brutally firm ride, heavy steering and engine so close it would roast a driver’s feet never detracted from the superb, timeless styling and classic proportions.’

-Alex Manos, Owner