Nash Le Mans Coupé

A blessing in disguise: when General Motors denied Donald Healey's request to use Cadillac power plants in his cars, he could have returned to England empty handed. Luckily for him, he met George Mason, President of the Nash-Kelvinator Corporation, on board the "Queen Elizabeth". Together they built what is generally considered to be America's first post war sports car: the Nash Healey. Add Battista Farina's Italian styling to this mix of American muscle and English handling, and you get a car that Nash humbly advertised with the slogan "The top talent of three nations has designed America's superlative sports car"   Capitalizing on racing successes at Le Mans by a lightweight Nash Healey, the 1953 model was named the Le Mans Coupé. In March 1953, it was awarded the first prize at the International Concours d'Elegance in Stresa, alongside the Lago Maggiore. The name of its powertrain also received a Le Mans touch and was renamed the "Le-Mans Dual Jetfire Ambassador Six". This 6-cylinder 4.1l engine with an aluminium head and dual carbs provides 140 horsepower. Engines and mechanical parts were manufactured by Nash in Wisconsin and were then shipped to England to be put in the Healey chassis. The rolling chassis was then shipped to Italy, where Carrozzeria Pinin Farina gave it its custom body and finalised assembly. After one last trip back to Wisconsin, the cars were ready to be sold. All this shipping had a considerable downside: it pushed the price of the Nash Healey way above the price of similar sports cars of that time. Over the four production years, a total of 507 Nash Healeys were built.   In 1953, 60 Le Mans Coupés were built, of which 24 are known to have survived. This particular Le Mans Coupé is one of 19 with special original Pinin Farina door grips. It has spent the first fifty years of its life in the same family. In recent years, it has won the Coppa Classic Concours (2013), it has been exhibited at Autoworld in Brussels (2014-2015), and it was an entrant at the Zoute Concours (2012). In conclusion: a well-known prize-winning car that is more than ready for the next fifty years in its new family. Why not yours?