During a chance meeting crossing the Atlantic on the Queen Elizabeth, Englishman Donald Healey and Nash-Kelvinator chief George Mason discussed the prospect of collaborating on a sports car. The duo came to an agreement and batches of Nash Ambassador six-cylinder engines and three-speed gearboxes with overdrive were shipped to Warwickshire, England. There they were mated with Healey Silverstone chassis and a Panelcraft body of Healey design. Production began for the 1951 model year in December 1950. Racing versions finished 9th in class in the Mille Miglia and fourth overall at LeMans, but the steep price for Nash’s halo car kept sales to just 104 units that first year.

Mason never cared for the original slab styling of the car and having contracted with Italy’s Battista “Pinin” Farina to style the senior Nashes for 1952, he asked Farina to update the Nash-Healey, too. Steel bodywork replaced aluminum and an enlarged Nash six-cylinder engine with Carter carburetors added 10-hp. The price jumped and a total of just 150 were produced. A companion LeMans Coupe on a 6-inch longer wheelbase was introduced for 1953, yet production remained low with 162 units built for the model year. Thanks to its high price, the emergence of the Jaguar XK120, and Nash’s financial troubles, production ended in 1954 after a total of 506 units had been built.

This stunning 1953 Nash-Healey is offered from a private collection. The car is painted bright red over saddle tan leather and fitted with a black convertible top and side curtains. Of note are the contrasting red rims fitted with wire wheel covers and BF Goodrich Silvertown whitewall tires, all of which make for a striking appearance. The car is powered by a 252-cid, 140-hp in-line six-cylinder engine with twin Carter YH side-draft carburetors. It’s paired to a three-speed manual transmission with overdrive.