This Is The First Healy Enigma V8 Ever Built

This is a Healy Enigma V8, it was developed by a modestly sized independent British company as their take on a modern version of the venerated Austin-Healey 3000.

The Enigma V8 has a custom steel spaceframe chassis and a lightweight glass fiber body, under the skin you’ll find modified suspension and brakes from the Mazda Miata, and a 4.0 liter 300 bhp V8 engine from a Lexus.

Fast Facts – The Healy Enigma

• The Healy Enigma is a modern interpretation of the iconic Austin-Healey 3000, a British sports car from the late 1950s and 1960s that became a hit with European and American buyers alike.
• Underneath its retro body you’ll find a steel spaceframe chassis, independent front and rear suspension, disc brakes at all four wheels, a comfortable modern interior, and a 300 bhp V8.
• Healy Designs Ltd offers the Healy Enigma as either a turnkey car or in kit car form, and you can choose between a four cylinder Miata engine or a Lexus V8.
• The Enigma is becoming an increasingly popular choice for kit car builders in the UK thanks to its combination of modern handling, reliability, and comfort with classic design cues.

A Modern Take On The Classic Big Healey

Healy Designs Ltd started out in 2004 with a single goal in mind – to bring back the legendary Austin-Healey 3000.

Rather than just developing a replica the team led by Martin Williamson and Mick Snell decided to develop a modern design, a design that Donald Healey himself would immediately recognize.

The interior of the car is entirely modern, with climate control, a reversing camera, and all the bells and whistles you’d expect in a current-day sports car.

Once the body design had been completed a steel spaceframe chassis was developed, it was decided that the car would use the running gear and powertrain from a Miata in order to keep costs down and ensure that parts availability would never be a problem.

Austin-Healey And The Healey Hundred

The original “Big Healey” was the Healey Hundred, first shown to the public at the 1952 London Motor Show. It was essentially a concept car developed by former racing driver and Monte Carlo Rally-winner Donald Healey and a small team.

Donald and his team had a limited budget, certainly not enough to develop engines, gearboxes, and other complex components, so instead they designed their own body and chassis, then bought in the running gear and powertrain from other manufacturers.

The styling of the Healy Enigma is modern, with many references to the Big Healeys of old. Very similar air vents behind the front wheels were used on the works Healey rally cars of the 1960s.

In the case of the Big Healeys, the engine, gearbox, and many other parts were supplied by Austin, which resulted in the name Austin-Healey. This agreement came about when Leonard Lord, managing director of Austin, saw the Healey Hundred at the London Motor Show and struck a deal with Donald Healey to put the car into production.

The Healy Enigma And The Enigma V8

Given the unusual way the original Big Healeys came about it makes a lot of sense that a modern version of the car follow the same fundamental path – constructing the chassis and body in-house and then buying in the running gear and powertrain elements to keep costs manageable.

The team initially chose to use most of the required components from the Mazda Miata due to the broad availability of the model, and for the fact that the Miata’s core concept was actually based on classic British roadsters like the Lotus Elan.

This use of Miata parts would take care of the engine, transmission, differential, suspension, brakes, windshield, interior fit out, and the ECU and wiring loom. Many Enigma owners have built their cars in their own sheds or garages using a donor Miata that gets progressively stripped for the needed parts.

The 4.0 liter quad cam, 32 valve, all-alloy V8 is sourced from Lexus. Even in a moderate state of tune it produces an effortless 300 bhp.

More recently the company introduced the Healy Enigma V8, a vastly quicker and more powerful version of the car that makes use of an all-alloy, quad cam Lexus V8 up front producing 300+ bhp depending on the state of tune.

The Healey Enigma V8 Shown Here

The example you see here is a 2016 Healey Enigma V8, in fact it’s the first Healy Enigma V8 that was ever built.

The car was bought by the current owner directly from company co-founder Martin Williamson after he visited the factory and gave it a test drive. The original sale price was £37,000 which works out to approximately $49,600 USD.

Under the hood you’ll find a 300 bhp Lexus V8 that combines power with extreme reliability, this power is sent to the rear wheels via a four-speed automatic gearbox.

An automatic box was likely chosen to make the car easier to manage for people who came to try it out as the official factory demonstrator, but a swap to a manual box wouldn’t be a particularly complicated task for a suitably motivated new owner.

The car is now being auctioned live on The Market, if you’d like to read more about it or register to bid you can click here to visit the listing.

Images courtesy of Bonhams / The Market

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A Rare 80s Supercar: The Aston Martin V8 Vantage Zagato

The Aston Martin V8 Vantage Zagato came about as a series of events that occurred at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1984. The Aston Martin stand was placed near the Carrozzeria Zagato stand, and the bosses from the two companies started reminiscing about the legendary Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato from 1960.

The Geneva Motor Show of ’84 also saw the unveiling of the Ferrari 288 GTO, Aston Martin executives saw people clamoring to put down a deposit on the wild, high performance, low production volume vehicle.

These two events would contribute to the start of the Aston Martin V8 Vantage Zagato program which would result in the new and somewhat controversial model being introduced just two years later in 1986.

Fast Facts – The Aston Martin V8 Vantage Zagato

• When it was first shown to the public as a design sketch in 1985 the Aston Martin V8 Vantage Zagato defied the odds by selling the entire 50 unit allocation in less than six months based solely on the drawing.
• The V8 Vantage Zagato had large shoes to fill, it was immediately compared with the earlier Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato which is still regarded by many to be one of the most beautiful car designs of all time.
• Much like the DB4 GT Zagato, the V8 Vantage Zagato had a hand-formed aluminum alloy body over a shortened Aston Martin chassis.
• A certain amount of controversy has long surrounded the styling of the V8 Vantage Zagato, however with each passing year it’s becoming more widely appreciated as an automotive zeitgeist of the 80s.

Aston’s Unusual Supercar – The V8 Vantage Zagato

While there are some who will insist that a car needs to have the engine mounted in the back to qualify as a supercar, I’ve never believed this to be true.

Regardless of the engine location, it makes sense that supercar status should be gauged solely by the vehicle’s performance when compared with its contemporaries from the same point in history.

The extraordinary performance of the V8 Vantage Zagato combined with its quintessentially 80s styling has seen it growing in popularity in recent years.

The 1980s were a golden age in the history of the supercar, many of the most historically significant examples were built during this decade and the influence of these vehicles can still be felt today over 30 years later. The Testarossa, Countach, 959, F40, V16T, 288 GTO, CTR Yellowbird, Pantera GT5, Vector W8, were all in production during this decade.

There can be little argument that the Aston Martin V8 Vantage Zagato was one of the quickest supercars of the era, beating the top speed of the Ferrari Testarossa and the Lamborghini Countach by a handful of mph each.

It also has faster acceleration than the Ferrari 288 GTO – the Aston can do the 0 to 60 mph sprint in 4.8 seconds while it takes the Ferrari a whisker longer at 4.9 seconds. The GTO does win the top speed challenge however, with 189 mph vs the Aston’s 186 mph.

V8 Vantage Zagato Specifications

Power was provided by a specially prepared version of the Aston Martin V8, an all-alloy V8 with double overhead cams per bank, 16 valves, and in this case a capacity of 5340cc, a compression ratio of 10.2:1, a special high-performance camshaft and ported cylinder heads, combined with four Weber 48 IDF/3 carburetors.

This engine is capable of up to 437 bhp at 6250 rpm and 400 lb ft of torque at 5000 rpm. It rides on independent double A-arms up front with coil springs and an anti-roll bar, and in the rear you’ll find a de Dion arrangement with a Watt’s linkage and coil springs, with disc brakes front and back.

The power bulge was required to provide clearance for the four Weber carburetors. The 5.3 liter V8 produces 437 bhp at 6250 rpm and 400 lb ft of torque at 5000 rpm.

The body was hand formed from aluminum by Zagato craftsman and then fitted to a shortened steel box section Aston chassis. The end result was a car that is both lighter and faster than the original V8 Vantage.

Just 50 examples of the V8 Vantage Zagato were planned and deposits were sold based on this understanding, things changed when it was decided that a limited run of convertibles would also be built.

By the end of production 52 coupes and 37 convertibles had been sold to customers.

The Aston Martin V8 Vantage Zagato Shown Here

The V8 Vantage Zagato you see here is a 1987 model, it’s one of just 14 left-hand drive examples made with a manual transmission and it has just over 15,000 km from new on the odometer.

It’s finished with Javelin Grey over black leather colour scheme and you’ll find both air-conditioning and a stereo inside, two luxuries that all road-going examples of the model were fitted with.

This car is due to cross the auction block with RM Sotheby’s on the 19th of November with a price guide of $405,000 – $500,000 USD. If you’d like to read more about it or register to bid you can click here to visit the listing.

Images: Kevin Van Campenhout ©2021 Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

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Australia’s Most Famous CBX – The Honda CBX Cafe Racer By Motorretro

There can be little doubt that this is Australia’s most famous Honda CBX, it was built by Vaughan Ryan of Motorretro in Sydney and it’s been widely published in print, online, in film, and seen at shows over the past 7+ years.

With its hefty inline-six cylinder engine installed transversely across the bike the Honda CBX is one of the most memorable motorcycles of the 1970s.

When Vaughan bought one in the United States and had it shipped to Australia it was the beginning of a process that would see the bike completely rebuilt into a highly-capable modern cafe racer.

Fast Facts – The Motorretro Honda CBX

• The Honda CBX was introduced in 1978 and it became one of the most memorable bikes from the era, the result of a technological arms race between Japan’s four largest motorcycle manufacturers.
• The CBX is powered by an advanced (for the time) inline-six cylinder engine with double overhead cams, four valves per cylinder, six carburetors, a 5-speed transmission and 105 hp at 9,000 rpm.
• The CBX you see here has been vastly customized, it now features a Ducati 1098R front end, hand-formed alloy body work, adjustable Öhlins shoe absorbers in the rear, a Ducati 999 rear wheel, and a slew of other changes that resulted in it losing over 100 lbs of excess weight.
• The bike is now for sale for the first time ever, you can click here if you’d like to visit the listing.

Vaughan Ryan + The CBX Cafe Racer

The following interview with Vaughan Ryan was conducted by Andrew Jones, it’s the latest in a series of articles in which we turn over the keyboard to the person who actually did the work and let them tell the story in their own words.

Vaughan is the co-founder (alongside Georgio Rimi) of Motorretro in Sydney, a workshop that has become the home of classic automotive coachbuilding in the region.

Tell Us About Yourself And The Team?

G’day my name is Vaughan Ryan and I’m 1 of 2 owners of Motorretro in Sydney. Primarily there was 3 of us involved in the build: Georgio Rimi (my business partner and co-fabricator, machinist, and chief shit-stirrer), and the talented Mr Julian Lopez mechanic and electrical whiz. 

Tell Us About Your Company?

Motorretro was founded around the same time we built this bike. Our business is multifaceted eg. we specialize in repairs, restorations, and restomods of collectible classic cars. We manufacture our own cast iron wheeling machines and other industry related tools, including reverse engineering or prototyping of parts no longer available.

Both Georgio and I have teaching qualifications and vocational skills training as teachers. We love seeing students achieve their goals of building or restoring, we never struggle to turn up for work because everyday is different and challenging on many levels.

The fuel tank, rear cowl, and headlight cowl were all shaped from alloy by hand for this bike by Vaughan.

What Year/Make/Model Is This Motorcycle?

The bike was originally a 1978 Honda CBX 1000, a big heavy 70’s muscle bike in need of a diet and restyling.

How Did You Find It And What Kind Of Condition Was It In?

I found the bike via Ebay in the US, I had it packaged and sent to Sydney, complete with the US model high rise cruiser handlebars. It had 9,000 original miles on the bike.

Mechanically it was excellent but the paintwork was faded. I put rego on the bike and rode it around for 6 months. It really rode like a 40 year old in every aspect and I’ve owned modern bikes, but their styling leaves me uninspired.

What Was Your Objective When Building This Bike?

Approximately 6-7 years ago I embarked on this build, however the seed was planted many years prior when I built another CBX (A Mike Hailwood Honda 6 replica) for a client. Half way throught building the Hailwood replica I fell in love with the idea of it as a stripped down cafe racer. A raw unapologetic beast with no plastic and hand made bodywork.

The inline-six cylinder engine developed for the Honda CBX drew on the lessons learned when the company developed the Honda RC series six-cylinder race bikes in the 1960s.

What Fabrication Work Went Into This Build?

• We fitted a Ducati 1098R frontend & modified the steering shaft, custom made the top triple clamp
• Detabbed everything unnecessary from the frame
• Widened and braced the rear swingarm fitting 5.5 inch wide Ducati 999 rear wheel
• Designed and handmade the fuel tank, seat base/pan, rear café racer tail, rear hugger, headlight mounting brackets & instrument cowl, foot rests, modified the pipemaster exhaust system
• All new motogadget wiring loom & instruments etc
• Fitted velocity stacks
• Ohlins rear shocks
• Dropped nearly 50 kg from the bike

Did You Use Any Outside Contractors During The Build?

I did most of the prep work for the paint and polishing. Garry Hall assisted me with the expertise application of the paint.

Roger Warsop from Retroline signs did an amazing job with the hand pinstriping and the gold leaf striping. Hytone trimmers did the seat for me.

What Was The Biggest Challenge You Encountered During The Build?

All the technicalities of fitting the Ducati parts to a Honda so I suppose it’s a Duconda or a CBX 1098R. Problem solving and the creativity of how to go about it is the greatest problem with any build.

What Engine Work Was Done?

The block was machined to the next size because the bores were glazed. Along with a total engine rebuild with new parts, rebuilt clutch. Electronic ignition & new charging system compatible with a lithium battery. Shortened exhaust system that was cut and tiered for aesthetics.

The Motorretro Honda CBX Cafe Racer Is Now For Sale

The Motorretro Honda CBX Cafe Racer is now listed on Shannons where it’s due to be auctioned live online this week. Id you’d like to read more about it or register to bid you can click here to visit the listing.

If you’d like to visit Motorretro and see more of the work they do you can click here to visit the website.

Photography and Interview by Andrew Jones – Machines That Dream

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(via 1957 Bill Frick Special GT Coupe | Hyman Ltd.)

(via 1957 Bill Frick Special GT Coupe | Hyman Ltd.)

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vintageclassiccars:Porsche 911 2.4 Targa - 1972 - love the Fuchs….
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A Mid-Engined Honda Civic Type R-Powered Mini With 200 HP

The humble Mini has been customized in almost every way imaginable, but this is the first time we’ve seen a mid-engined, rear wheel drive example come up for sale powered by a 200 hp Honda Civic Type R K20A2 engine.

This car is one of many around the world that was resurrected during the Covid Era, when people had plenty of time at home on their hands and the excuses not to finish the project vehicle in the garage slowly evaporated.

Fast Facts – A Mid-Engined Type R-Powered Mini

• This car was built using a kit from Z Cars in the UK, this provides the rear subframe and many of the parts needed to convert a Mini to mid-engined, rear-wheel drive car.
• With 200 hp in standard tune, the Honda Civic Type R K20A2 engine provides approximately 260 bhp per ton when installed in a Z Cars Mini, and up to 430 bhp per ton with forced induction.
• The Type R K20A2 engine is a 2.0 liter (1998cc) inline-four cylinder engine with double overhead cams, four valves per cylinder, variable valve timing, and 200 hp at 7,400 rpm.
• Z Cars was originally founded in Britain in 1999 by Chris Allanson to provide both kits and turnkey cars, in the years since the company has been responsible for some of the fastest Minis in the world.

The Z Cars Mid-Engined Mini

When the Mini was first released back in 1959 the engineering team behind it could never have known that over 60 years later people would be building 400+hp mid-engined, rear wheel drive versions of the car in their sheds.

Above Video: This episode of Petrol Ped features a Z Cars Mini powered by a Civic Type R engine, it includes plenty of onboard driving footage and engine audio.

The Mini is historically notable for its use of a transversely-mounted inline-four cylinder engine that includes its transmission, and sends power to the front wheels. This powertrain layout is now used by the majority of passenger cars in production worldwide.

Due to the small size and low weight of the Mini it’s long been attractive to those who want to take it racing, John Cooper created the Mini Cooper in 1961 which went on to become one of the most successful rally cars of its time.

The Z Cars approach to getting more speed out of the Mini is relatively complex, it requires a new tubular steel frame be bolted into place to accommodate a new rear-mounted engine powering the rear wheels.

A number of engines can be used in this conversion, the most popular choices are engines sourced from the Suzuki Hayabusa superbike, as well as the Subaru flat-4 boxer, and of course, the Civic Type R K20A2.

The engine is accessed through the rear of the car, and there’s more space in the engine bay than you might have expected.

During the build the rear seats are removed, the new frame is installed, the track width of the car is increased considerably which requires flared wheel arches. The original engine and transmission is removed from the front and replaced with a radiator and cooling fans for the new mid-mounted engine.

The new engine sits close behind the driver and passenger offering excellent weight distribution, and it’s accessed through the rear of the car.

Depending on the final specification, the Minis from Z Cars are more than capable of wiping the floor with essentially any modern hot hatch and many modern sports cars.

The Z Cars Mini Shown Here

The car you see here was originally built in 2007, it’s powered by the engine from a UK-spec 2002 Honda Civic Type R which feeds power to the rear wheels via a 6-speed manual transmission.

The car has an all-new interior with racing seats, a full roll cage, a custom dashboard, and a laptop-tunable ECU.

The donor car was a 1993 Mini Mayfair, however apart from the unibody not much of the original vehicle remains. Inside you’ll now find BB5 bucket seats, new carpets, a custom dashboard, and an OMP fire extinguisher system.

A quick-release steering wheel has been fitted and the car uses a Kpro V4 reprogrammable engine management system, and it has a digidash with laptop/GPS plug-in ports, a 12V plug, a voltage meter, and a start button.

The car now rides on fully adjustable coilover suspension front and back, and it’s fitted with Wilwood disc brakes front and rear with four-piston calipers up front on drilled and vented rotors.

This extremely quick Mini is now being auctioned live own Car & Classic out of the UK, if you’d like to read more about it or register to bid you can click here to visit the listing.

Images courtesy of Car & Classic.

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