By the time the Austin-Healey 3000 appeared in July 1959, the Big Healey was a familiar sight on British and North American roads.  The new models were hard to distinguish from their forebears by a cursory visual examination, but they incorporated one very significant improvement.  This was a big-bore 2912cc version of the BMC six-cylinder engine.  Not only was this more powerful than its 2638cc predecessor, but it was also more torquey.  The result was that the Healey 3000 was faster through the gears and had a higher top speed than all of its standard-production forebears.

In 1962, the triple-carburettor Mk. II version appeared, offering even more power but no real performance improvements from an engine that proved difficult to keep in tune.  So the Mk. II convertible - with a proper soft top and 2+2 seating - reverted to twin carburettors, and the final Mk.III models introduced in 1964 looked to other means for their power increase.

In their final years, the works Healeys became respected rally machines.  The 3000, durable as it was, could not last forever: production came to an end late in 1967, largely because of the cost of modifying the car to meet safety and exhaust emissions regulations due to be introduced in the USA during 1968.

A big Healey still has undeniable charisma, and these classic British sports cars of the 1960s are today much prized by enthusiasts all over the world.