HEALEY 2400 SILVERSTONE | TECHNICAL INSPECTION - FLASHES OF MILLE MIGLIA 2014

Sifting through my archives I found some more interesting footage of another not so well known and rarely seen car: A 1949 Healey Silverstone! It was present at the Mille Miglia 2014 and was spotted at the (Italian, so always stressful) technical scrutiny session.

It is an open two-seater road / racing sports car, or in the USA roadster, that was made by Donald Healey Motor Company. The Silverstone had headlights behind the grille to make it more aerodynamic. It was designed to be a dual purpose "race and ride" car. It also had a 104 horsepower 2.5-litre Riley I-4 engine and four speed manual transmission.

The Silverstone was made at a factory in Warwick, England. They were hand-built and only 105 were produced. When the British government doubled the purchase tax on (luxury) cars over £1000 (US$4000) from 33.33% to 66.66% in 1948, Healey realised he was in trouble. He decided to make a high performance car that was under £1000. The result was the Healey Silverstone. Production ended in September 1950 when it was replaced by the Nash-Healey.

The Silverstone was designed by Len Hodges. Hodges rounded the back of the car and pulled it out slightly from the sides. A slot was cut out of the rear to house a tyre. Since the tyre was protruding out of the car, it acted like a bumper. There was very little luggage space. It was a two-seater with a very light body. It weighed only 2,100 pounds. This made it suitable for motor-sports. The 1949 Silverstone (D-Type) was a little bit less wide and the cockpit was a bit uncomfortable. The 1950 Silverstone (E-Type) was a bit wider and has a more comfortable cockpit. By making the E-Type wider, the car was very successful on the track.

The Silverstone has won many competitions including the 1949 Alpine Rally or Coupe des Alpes where the car was driven by Donald Healey and Ian Appleyard. Another win was in 1951 when Peter Riley and Bill Lamb won Belgium's Liège-Rome-Liège Rally and in 1951 Edgar Wadsworth and Cyril Corbishley again won the Coupe des Alpes. Other notable placings included Peter Simpson's 6th place overall in the 1951 Isle of Man Manx Cup Races. The Silverstone had a top speed of 110 mph and a 0-60 time of 11 seconds, which rivaled other cars.