Healey Westland Roadster History

The Westland Roadster was the Donald Healey Motor Company's inaugural model, introduced in 1946 from the company's base in a converted RAF hangar in Warwick. Its aluminum body was built by the Westland Engineering Company of Hereford over an ash wood frame, initially intended for Riley but reassigned after changes within the Morris group.

Powered by the proven Riley 2.4-litre twin-cam four-cylinder engine producing around 104 hp, the Westland was exceptionally light — approximately 2,000 lb — and was timed at over 100 mph in contemporary press tests, making it among the fastest British production cars of the immediate postwar period.

The aerodynamic body was designed by Ben Bowden and tested in a wind tunnel, an unusual commitment to engineering rigor for a small postwar manufacturer. Only 64 Westland Roadsters were built in total before the model was superseded by the more refined Tickford-bodied cars in 1950.