It was initially based in the premises of Benford Ltd (who made cement mixers and dumpers) at The Cape in Warwick, but soon moved into an old aircraft components factory on the adjacent Millers Road Industrial Estate.

There Healey was joined by Roger Menadue from Armstrong Whitworth to run the experimental workshop and subsequently by his son Geoffrey, who had qualified as an engineer.

The cars mainly used a tuned version of the proven Riley twin-cam 2.4-litre four-cylinder engine in a light steel box-section chassis of Healey design using independent front suspension by coil springs and alloy trailing arms with Girling dampers.

The aerodynamic body design was the work of Benjamin Bowden and unusually for the time it was tested in a wind tunnel to refine its efficiency.

Austin chief Sir Leonard Lord was so impressed when he saw it on the Healey stand at the 1952 Earls Court Motor Show he offered to make it in his own factories under the name Austin-Healey 100.

[2] The result was a 1953 a joint venture which created the Austin-Healey marque with the British Motor Corporation manufacturing the cars and the Healey company doing the designs and running racing operations.