The Austin Healey owes its name and heritage to Donald Healey, a remarkable man remembered as much for his engineering skills as his success as a driver on international race and rally circuits.

The Austin Healey Golden Anniversary celebrations mark 50 years since Donald Healey's new sports car, the Healey 100, became the star of the 1952 Earls Court Motor Show.

Donald Mitchell Healey was born at Perranporth, Cornwall, in 1898. He joined the Sopwith aircraft company in 1914. Shot down by British anti-aircraft fire on one of the first night bomber missions, he was invalided out of the RFC at the age of 18, and went on to study engineering before taking up motor racing and rallying.

Donald Healey won the Monte Carlo Rally of 1931 and was well placed in other years. He also gained a reputation as a consultant engineer and designer, creating both the renowned Southern Cross and Dolomite Eight models for Triumph.

During the Second World War, Donald Healey was in charge of developing an aircraft carburettor for the Ministry of Supply, and also worked with Humber on armoured cars. It was here that he met Achille Sampietro, a chassis specialist for high performance cars who, in 1945, joined him in the newly formed Donald Healey Motor Company, based in an old RAF hangar at Warwick.

The first Healey saloon car, with a 2.5 litre Riley engine, appeared the following year. It went on to score class wins in the Alpine Rallies of 1947 and 1948, and the Targa Florio. A Nash-Healey gained third place in the Le Mans event of 1952. Healey himself drove a GT version in the 1948 Mille Miglia, finishing ninth overall.

Over this period Donald Healey was already developing the Healey 100 sports car. Following the 1952 Motor Show, a contract was agreed between Donald Healey and Leonard Lord of the Austin Motor Company to manufacture the car at the Longbridge factory. The Austin Healey 100 became an immediate best-seller and was exported with great success, particularly to the USA. The smaller Austin-Healey Sprite followed some years later.

Donald Healey's competitive spirit continued well into his fifties. In 1956 he recorded a two-way speed of 203.06 mph on the Bonneville Salt Flats, driving a car of his own design. A month later the affordable high-performance 6-cylinder Austin-Healey 100/6 made its appearance and set a standard for sports cars for years to come.

When BMC was taken over by British Leyland, Donald Healey became chairman of Jensen Cars and was awarded a CBE.

Donald Healey died on 13 January 1988 at the age of 89.