Austin-Healey’s two-seater 3000 fired the imagination of sports car enthusiasts around the world with victories in the most punishing events of the time. This is the model that Pat Moss, sister of Sir Stirling Moss, drove to an astounding 1st place overall victory in the brutal and legendary 1960 Liège-Rome-Liège Rally. It is also the model in which she won the Coupe des Dames at the Geneva Rally in 1960 and the Ladies Cup at the Tulip Rally the following year.

Likewise, the Morley brothers, Don and Earl, scored an outright victory in the 1960 Alpine Rally in a two-seat 3000. Another factory team car finished 2nd in class in the 1960 12 Hours of Sebring, where it was bested only by a Ferrari 250 GT California.

This model is prized by collectors for its no-compromise two-seat design, as it lacks the family car pretenses of the concurrent four-seat model. It is also cherished for its rareness, as only 2,825 of the 13,650 total 3000 Mark I production, just 20 percent, were two-seat models.

According to its British Motor Industry Heritage Trust (BMIHT) Certificate, a copy of which is on file, the car offered here was built on 25 February 1960 and delivered to its original dealer in Los Angeles on 7 March. A longtime California car, it was restored in the early 2000s by the renowned marque specialist Kurt Tanner in the traditional color scheme of Olde English White with a red leather interior and black top. It was acquired by the Mohrschladt Family Collection several years ago, from Thomas and Jacqueline Stall of Tustin, California.

Finished to the highest show-quality standards, the car presents with the well-detailed beauty typical of a Tanner restoration job, including deep two-stage paintwork on a well-fitted body, a tight fresh interior, and excellent chrome. Further, the car retains the desirable original options of wire wheels, a heater, and Laycock de Normanville overdrive, as it was delivered in 1960. Documentation on file includes a complete photographic album of the restoration, a matching pair of California black registration plates, and a driver’s handbook for the model. The trunk contains a correct jack and spare.

A simply wonderful Austin-Healey in the most desirable two-seater form, this car would be a thrilling acquisition to any collection.