1953 Nash Healey Le Mans Coupe

This 53 model Nash Healey Le Mans Coupe was offered through "Mecum Auctions" in Dallas. Texas back in 2018. We're unsure what it sold for but expect it was likely $75,000 + USD. It's an absolutely immaculate example of the Le Mans coupe, and is one of just 506 built in this style between 1951 and 1954. Personally, I like the later 1955 redesign, where the C pillar / rear windscreen have that true 50s angular wrap-around look, but this is still a thing of beauty.

See the original listing here. At the time it was offered, the seller / auction house noted the following comments about the car:

"Having covered a mere 33,866 miles from new, this 1953 Nash-Healey Le Mans Coupe features a body by Pininfarina of Turin, Italy, a chassis by Donald Healey of Warwick, England, and a drivetrain by Nash Motors of Kenosha, Wisconsin; to say it was an international effort may well be an understatement. To boot, the Le Mans edition was produced to celebrate the Nash-Healey’s third-place finish at the 1952 24 Hours of Le Mans. This example is a California car and has the advantage of no rust on the hand-built, all-steel, one-piece body with an aluminum hood and trunk lid. The 1953 model year marked the lowest production with approximately 50 coupes built that year of the 506 built between 1951 and 1954. Under the hood is the tried-and-true Dual Jetfire 252 CI OHV inline 6-cylinder engine which, since the 1951 introduction, received a number of upgrades, such as a lightweight aluminum head, larger displacement and enhanced twin carburetors. An absolute testament to free enterprise, the Nash-Healey sports car was the result of a chance meeting on a cruise between British sports-car maker Donald Healey and the president of the Nash Kelvinator Corporation, George Mason. By the end of the journey, the two men had agreed upon producing a sports car and the roles each company would take in the endeavor. The first cars were built in 1950 and shown at the 1951 Miami Auto Show in February. It was a true sports car in every sense, offering exceptional styling and performance, and featuring a ladder-frame chassis, solid inline 6-cylinder engine, steel body with aluminum hood and trunk lid, and seating for two. For 1952, the Nash-Healey was restyled by Pininfarina and emerged with a unique look, featuring inboard headlights. The international effort resulted in a stratospheric sticker price nearing $6,000. Donald Healey largely just stepped away from the Nash-Healey in order to pursue work on the British sports car over the Anglo-Franco-American car—his British sports cars would be the stuff of legends, but the Nash-Healey Le Mans coupe remains a landmark effort."

Vehicle details

Added on 29 Apr 2022

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Vehicle Location: Country: 
United States
Build date: 
built in 1953
Transmission: 
Manual (floor shift)
33,866 miles
Paint Colour/Code: 
Gold over creme
Interior Colour/Code: 
Creme leather
Engine Type: 
6 cylinder
Engine Fuel Type: 
Petrol (4 stroke)
Engine Number: 
TBC
Chassis Number: 
TBC