• 3-liter, SOHC, 132hp inline six • Four-speed manual transmission with overdrive • One of 355 2-seater BN7s produced • Exceptional restoration by marque specialist Kurt Tanner • Beautifully maintained and presented "A classic competition car among the all-time greats in motoring history," was how The Autocar magazine summed up the works Austin-Healey 3000 in 1963.

Yet at the time of its arrival in 1959, few would have guessed that the low-slung 'Big Healey' would triumph over its apparent shortcomings so effectively that it now rates as one of the most successful rally cars of the 1960s.

A development of the preceding 100/6 rather than a genuinely new model, the Austin-Healey 3000 was launched in March 1959.

The two cars looked virtually identical and under the skin was the same separate ladder-type chassis and independent front/live rear axle suspension.

Improvements to the 3000 included a slightly enlarged (to 2,912cc) version of the C-Series six-cylinder engine and Girling disc...