...Shelby also drove Healeys!....

The Supercharged Car

Bonneville 1956 ___________________________________________________

The fastest  ever Healey Is a 100-Six! - 203.11 mph

1956 Bonneville International Class D Records 200 miles - 152.58 mph 500 kms - 152.95 mph 500 miles - 153.14 mph 1,000 kms - 150.98 mph 3 hours - 153.06 mph 6 hours - 145.96 mphh

DMH with the longnose endurance car at the 1956 London Motor Show

Two cars were taken to Bonneville in 1956, both fitted with the new six-cylinder C-series engine. The second car was a long nosed BN2, unblown, sporting a six port head, 10:1 cpmpression ratio and triple Webers. Healey was a firm believer that success on the track brings success in the showrooms ("Win on Sunday...Sell on Monday") The 1956 record breaking attempts were timed to coincide with the launch of the new 100-Six model. The "Longnose"  when it ran at Bonneville was Healey Blue and White and featured the oval grille with wavy horizontal bars that were to be introduced later that year on the new 100-Six. The marketing department was not slow in making the connection. One caption reading: "New Power.....with the basic six-cylinder power plant that captured 28 Class D records at Bonneville..."

Carroll Shelby and Roy Jackson-Moore took truns to drive the endurance car and the record setting was carried out on a 10 mile circular track. The body was built by Jensen and had a cockpit adapted to be like a single seat racer. Although the initial 100-Six was to appear with the integral manifold head the endurance car already had the six port head and was fitted with three dual choke Weber carburettors. It had a 10:1 compression ratio and generated about 160 bhp from the standard 2,639 cc motor.

The Endurance Car

100-Six

Shelby and Jackson - Moore set many Class D  International and American records, most of them in excess of 150 mph which was quite amazing from a relatively standard 2.6 litre engine. The car kept going at that pace for 6 hours before the cylinder head gasket failed.

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US Auto Club Certificate of Performance from the collection of Herve Chevalier

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Roy Jackson-Moore leaving `the Garage` at Bonneville salt flats

The speed was attained in 1956 and the car in question was the  supercharged Streamliner which Donald Healey drove to achieve his goal of breaking the 200 mph barrier at Bonneville salt flats, Utah, becoming the nineteenth person to do so. The car was the original 1954 streamliner fitted out with a supercharged  C-series motor which in unblown standard form would shortly power the new 100-Six. Under the skin the car was based on a BN2 and had a four speed gearbox. It was however equiped with a BN1 spiral bevel rear axle, which necessitaed very careful acceleration to deal with the 292  bhp available.

The longnose endurance car in action on the Bonneville salt