We haven't yet built a sport car capable of flight. Meanwhile the Austin Healey 3000 offers you quite a take-off. 60 mph in 9.8 seconds. When motoring correspondents write about the Austin Healey 3000, they tend to let loose the adjectives. Flatterers like: Rugged. Muscular. Hairy-chested. If you've ever drive an Austin Healey 3000 your-self, you won't quarrel with these descriptions. Ruggedness is something Austin have been working on for thrteen years, the length of time it took to arrive at the present Mark III. By now the 3000 should be rugged. The muscularity is a function of the famous BMC C.series engine, tuned to give 150 bhp at 5,250 rpm. This is a big three-litre powerhouse: hence the long, sweptback rake of bonnet needed to cancel it.The chief improvements, latterly, are details of finish. Wind-up windows, a convertible top, a more elegant cockpit. A back seat that holds forward to from a plataform for extra luggage. On the road the 3000 is a quieter car: dual exhausts reduce the noise without diminishing the power. And the disc brakes are servo-assisted to keep 120 mph plus under close rein. Competition? The 3000 spoils for it. It's the only British sport car ever to have won the Liege-Rome-Liege Rally, which is probably the most destructive test of them all. it's also the only British sport car ever to have won the liege Rally twice.  |
Options
