U.S. #3934
37¢ Nash Healey
America on the Move Booklet Stamps
Issue Date: August 20, 2005
City: Detroit, MI
Quantity: 640,000,000
Printing Method: Lithographed
Color: Multicolored
Nash Healey
Early in 1951, Nash Motors brought out the Nash Healey, the first sports car introduced by an American manufacturer in 20 years. Nash Motors had been formed by Charles William Nash (1864-1948), the highly successful former president of both Buick and General Motors.
In February 1952, the new Nash Healey sports car was unveiled at the Chicago Automobile Show. The elegant roadster had a six-cylinder Nash engine and other parts manufactured at the Nash plant in Kenosha, Wisconsin. These were shipped to Warwick, England, and installed in a Healey chassis with “trailing link” front-end suspension built by the Donald Healey Company.
The last stop on this international assembly line was Turin, Italy, where a hand-built, custom body by Farina was added. Pinin Farina was well known as a custom-builder of expensive auto bodies for the very wealthy, like Indian rajas and Persian shahs.
Powered by the 125-horsepower Nash engine, the 1952 Nash Healey could perform at 125 miles per hour. It came in first in its class and third overall in the 1952 LeMans 24-hour marathon in France.
Only 150 of the 1952 model Nash Healeys were built. The sticker price was just over $4,200.