2016 Healy Enigma V8

This car has a steel box section chassis, a GRP body tub, doors and bonnet, the mechanicals from a Mk 3 Mazda MX5, and a Lexus LS400 V8 4.0L 300bhp V8 engine with a matched Lexus 4 speed auto ‘box.

This car was the first Enigma V8 to be built and the vendor bought it from Martin Williamson after seeing and driving it for the first time.

New, it cost £37,000.

We’ve taken it out for a spin and can report that it has three distinct personalities: (i) Dr. Jekyll (ii) Mr. Hyde (iii) Mr. Hyde when someone’s trodden on his foot and insulted his wife.

It’s perfectly happy to pootle about between the garden centre and the Dog & Duck in a normal, sedate way. Half flex your ankle and it will kick down one gear, accelerate urgently with a deeply satisfying V8 rumble and press on a bit.

Fully flex your ankle, however, and it’ll kick down two gears and take off like a nervous cheetah at a fireworks display.

It really is very brisk indeed.

It starts, handles and stops with a great deal of aplomb and panache.

No, it doesn’t have the build quality of something made by Gunther and Klaus on the 911 production line at Zuffenhausen, but it is remarkably free of the kind of extraneous creaks, moans, wheezes and groans that can often plague vehicles with kit-car origins.

In fact, it’s considerably better built than anything that would have rolled off the Austin-Healey line at Abingdon back in the day and it feels generally tight, taught and together.

This particular car is in exceptional condition, having covered just 1,700 miles since being assembled in 2016.

The odds of ever finding yourself parked next to another Healy Enigma V8 in the car park at Waitrose are vanishingly slim.

Frankly, you’ve got more chance of being hit by a meteorite.

This striking looking car is finished in Aston Martin Casino Royale Grey paintwork and is as gleaming and shiny as you could hope for.

Kept warm and dry and indoors from new, the exterior of this car has no flaws of any note that we can see and even the entirely standard signs of road rash are barely in evidence.

The panel fit, shut lines and door gaps are all good.

There are no marks, scuffs, or stone chips to speak of anywhere. Neither, unsurprisingly in a GRP-bodied car, is there any rust anywhere that we can see.

The badging, decals and trim are also all in fine nick, as is the manually operated black fabric hood, which was fitted as a new item (i.e., not from the donor vehicle) to the car.

The wheels, too, are free of any signs of kerbing or other scuff marks, and the tyres have plenty of life left in them.

Well, the good news continues unabated.

Nothing is worn, cracked, faded, torn, smudged, creased or otherwise notably compromised. Everything appears to work as it should, including all the buttons, toggles, levers, switches and knobs that we could get our hands on.

The all-digital, red LED instruments are, perhaps, something of an acquired taste, but they all seem to work as intended.

The quilted black leather upholstery is luxuriously comfortable yet more than supportive enough for a vehicle offering this kind of performance. The seats are as you would expect to find in a car that’s barely been run in.

The three-spoke Enigma-branded steering wheel matches the seats, as does the handbrake gaiter (which has a couple of small nicks in it), the gear lever trim and the quilted leather door cards.

The carpets and mats are good, as is the hood lining.

The boot is clean and tidy. Lifting up the carpets here or anywhere else in the car reveals…no rust whatsoever that we can see.

The interior is very highly specified and optioned by any standards, with heated leather seats, Bluetooth, Sat Nav, CD, DAB radio, front parking sensors and a reversing camera to name just the headline acts.

The undersides of the car appear to be untroubled by time, mileage or the elements.

Everything appears to be in its right and proper place and there is nothing more than an entirely superficial bloom of rust dust in evidence on any components.

The (very full) engine bay is dry and looks to be entirely in order.

The car’s build history is as follows:

Documented instruction given to Automotive Creation Ltd (ACL), Cleveland, to complete the build

1) New Healy Enigma rolling chassis, GRP Body Kit and parts supplied to ACL from Healy Designs factory for final assembly.

Manufactured Status – New

2) Front and rear axle assembly, upper and lower wishbones and all other moving parts – rubber bushes renewed.

Manufactured Status – New

3) Transmission, prop-shaft, PTP support shaft. LSD, half shafts and all new rubber mounts.

Manufactured Status - New

4) Steering assembly includes Power Steering, all new rubber and copper pipework, clips, ball joints extension tube and knuckle joints.

Manufactured Status - New

5) Front & Rear Suspension; Upgrades, include coil over Bilstein shock absorbers, dampers, uprated vented front and rear discs and callipers, copper brake pipes and clips.

Manufactured Status - New

6) Lexus 3969cc V8 - Engine number 1UZ0559703, complete with matching 4 speed auto box.

           Manufactured Status - Factory Rebuilt - New

A new sump pan was fitted under warranty in 2020 and the car has been recently serviced.

The car has an MoT certificate valid until 22.10.22. It comes with a few photographs of the build and other service history/documentation.

It also comes with the highly appropriate cherished registration EN16 MAR.

We think this is a very special way to get a great deal of high-performance car, wrapped up in a unique package, at an accessible price point.

All cars are the sum of their parts, and the parts used in this one are first-class, proven, and come with a good deal of automotive pedigree.

We can vouch for the fact that all of the car’s parts have been properly screwed together. Taken as a whole, this is a car that will bring a smile to the face of anyone who sees it, and a huge grin to the face of anyone driving it with a bit of spirit.

It’s a serious car, and it’s fun.

Seriously fun, then.

We’re confident that this 2016 Healy Enigma V8 will fetch somewhere between £16,000 and £25,000.

Viewing is always encouraged, and this particular car is located with us at The Market HQ near Abingdon; to arrange an appointment please use the Contact Seller button at the top of the listing. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.