Description
The Healey Duncan Drone was budget Healey beating the car tax. The chassis and running gear was supplied tax free and the aluminium coach built Duncan Drone body fitted to the Healey chassis, making the car under the £1, 000. With no history of the total amount of cars produced at the time, but records show a handful of cars did have Healey bodies fitted later. Today it is believed that only three cars are left on the road and one being the original Mille Miglia entered car. This car has been totally restored to the highest standards by world renown Healey specialist Classic Restorations in Hulcote, Buckinghamshire and is in outstanding condition, totally correct in every way. This car has been entered into the 2019 Mille Miglia and finished the whole 1, 000 miles with no problems at all.
The Donald Healey Motor Company completed its first car in 1945, going into production the following year with the Elliott sports saloon and Westland roadster, both Riley's 2. 4-liter powered and featuring Healey's own trailing arm independent front suspension. For a time the Elliott was the world's fastest closed four-seater production car, clocking 110mph at Jabbeke, Belgium in 1947. In 1950 the duo were superseded by the Tickford-bodied saloon and Abbott drophead coupe. Chassis were thus supplied to Duncan Industries Ltd in 1948, by which time some 28 of the Healey variety had been completed as sports saloons. At the same time, Duncan built on the Healey chassis, the prototype of which is known as the 'Spiv'. The Drone's raison d'être was the 66% Purchase Tax levied on cars costing over £ 1, 000 if they remained in the UK, a penalty calculated to encourage search cars to be exported. In the case of the Tickford saloon, the base price of £ 1, 218 was increased to £ 1, 896 3s 4d for UK-based customers. Equipping the Drone with only the bare minimum of rudimentary bodywork while specifying the passenger seat, windscreen and spare wheel as 'extras' kept the price down so the buyer could afford to remove the body and send the car to a coach builder for re-bodying with something more civilised. It is known that this happened to three Drones, all of which were re-bodied by Westland. By so doing the Healey enthusiast could avoid paying tax and still enjoy what was one of the world's fastest sports cars. Believe one of the sole surviving examples.
