Austin-Healey SR

Introduction

As Geoff Healey wrote in Austin Healey: The Story of the Big Healeys, SR was a very special car, built specifically for LeMans. Having had excelent results at LeMans since the late 1940's in the pre-Austin Healeys and through the the 1950's and early 1960's in Austin Healeys, big and small, it seemed that without any production cars, the late 1960's may see the end of Healey entrys. The competition Sprites were doing admirably but by 1967 desires for a higher place in the field saw plans develop for a Healey to build a car to run in the Sports Prototype Class.

It had been some time coming, but the Austin Healey challenge to Porsche's supremacy in two litre racing finally became a solid reality in 1968. Unlike Porsche and Alfa Romeo, the Austin Healey SR had a robust, somewhat ugly appearance - in fact it was in this respect alone that the SR showed evidence of its heritage. It had the heavy, brutal look that had typified Austin Healeys since they first appeared in 1946 - but it was here that any similarity ended.

The SR was an alloy-bodied, mid-engined racer and weighed in at 1400 lbs - or about 80 lbs lighter than the Australian-made Cooper "S". The original cars were powered by a two litre fuel injected Coventry Climax V8, delivering 240 bhp at 9000 rpm and transmitting power to the rear wheels via a five speed Hewland DC300 gear box. BMH says the car has been designed to take power units of up to four litre capacity - and the construction methods backed this claim.

Build In-House And Under Secrecy

The Austin Healey SR was built in house and under a fair degree of secrecy, the SR name being from Sub Rosa (in secrecy) but early 1968 Donald Healey let the motoring press in on their project which was widely reported in Febuarys magazines and news papers. SR was officially launched at the Austin Healey Club Silverstone race meeting in August 1968 where John Harris ran some fast laps as well as providing an opportunity for Press Photographs. Andrew Hedges and Clive Baker were SR s drivers for the 1968 LeMans with race number 47.

The SR was designed around a chassis platform rather than the now widely-accepted space frame, and the end result was claimed by BMH to be an immensely strong unit. The car lacked some of the almost gimmicky refinements of the European two litre cars - it had followed closely the well-proven formula of success without making radical departures. Fuel was carried in bag tanks located in the door sills and a roll bar was an integral part of the construction. Twin radiators were mounted at the side, above the fuel tanks.

Even by the standards of 1968, the SR was not a particularly low car - at 40 inches, it was over four inches taller than Ford of Britain's slinky three litre Group Six prototype. The front suspension was independent, with a coil spring and double wishbone arrangement keeping the wheels in close contact with the ground - at the rear, the story was much the same.

Under The Hood

The 3.71 to 1 final drive ratio gave a theoretical speed of 180 mph in fifth gear at 9000 rpm. Gear ratios were spaced to give 72 mph in first, 107 mph in second, 135 mph in third and 162 mph in fourth. Needless to say, the SR's running gear was pretty well proven, the designers doing their best to ensure both reliability AND performance in their efforts to out-do the likes of the Porsches and Alfas. But, then again, reliability had never been a Porsche weak point anyway.

The Verdict

As it turned out, the Coventry-Climax 2-litre engine gave the SR insufficient performance. It retired at Le Mans both in 1968 and 1969 and was substantially modified for 1970 when it was fitted with a Repco 3-Iitre V8 engine. This time, the Healey ran more reliably, but was eventually put out of the race only a few minutes from the end with ignition trouble. Donald Healey retired to his native Cornwall, leaving his sons, Geoffrey and Brian, in charge of the Healey works, but he was far from finished with the motor trade for he had been quietly developing a new version of the Austin-Healey 100.

Austin Healey SR Specifications Model SR Years Produced 1968 Track Front: 54" / Rear: 54" Dimensions Height: 40" / Width: 66" / Length: 156" Gearing 3.456 to 1 crown wheel and pinion 1st Gear 15 - 40 - 9.20 to 1 Overall Ratio 2nd Gear 20 - 36 - 6.22 to 1 Overall Ratio 3rd Gear 23 - 33 - 4.955 to 1 Overall Ratio 4th Gear 25 - 30 - 4.145 to 1 Overall Ratio 5th Gear 27 - 29 - 3.71 to 1 Overall Ratio Speeds at 9,000 RPM 5th Gear = 180+ mph   4th Gear = 162 mph   3rd Gear = 135 mph   2nd Gear = 107 mph   1st Gear = 72 mph