Healey by Caton: Revisiting A Motoring Classic

Words by Matteo Lavazza / Photos courtesy of Caton

We often hear about small new companies that rise out of nowhere with those that now resonate with the usual promises destined to be forgotten in just a few months. It’s easy to draw from the catalog of classic motoring icons and from there create something designed for the modern customers, a little less the realization of this. However, the true destiny of these models turns out to be even more difficult, often relegated to be kept as 3D projects, in some cases a handful of specimens with a prohibitive price and almost never destined to leave their mark, but rather ready to vanish like dust blown away by the wind.

For Caton, however, the music could sound different, given that the new British manufacturer does not intend to live on the shoulders of the old glories and instead to bring some memories back to life and make them more user-friendly for contemporary customers. In this regard, Caton then addresses a specific petrolhead, promising to be able to carry out particular requests and therefore working almost exclusively on demand. At this point add the fact that the first model presented by Caton to the media and enthusiasts has nothing to do with those (fortunately few) historic cars transformed into 100% electric and the English team has all our attention. A further and very important detail is that behind this new name there are key figures of companies such as Envisage: in short, we are talking about specialists in the field of design, CAD reproduction and obviously also mechanics.

The guinea pig, if we want to define it that way, is an Austin Healey 100/4 towards which nothing has been left to chance. In fact, we start from the choice to intervene on the 4-cylinder engine, rather than on the 6-cylinder of the following models, precisely due to the fact that the smaller engine allows for greater possibilities of being boosted, resulting in a final increase in power that goes from 90 to 185 horsepower, for a power/weight ratio of 200-hp per ton; by the way, the overall mass remains just 920 kg. An icon of British motoring that has been able to conquer both gentlemen and racing drivers and this is precisely the incarnation of Caton vision, where a beautiful car can essentially live a second youth, refining its mechanics and making it usable 365 days a year even in today’s world.

The three-speed gearbox is replaced with a more effective and practical 5-speed, while returning to the engine compartment, it is worth pointing out that a large part of the block has been revised, while remaining faithful to the original one. This translates into a better power delivery, with a peak reached at 5,000 rpm, the wind in your hair and the certainty of going home without getting your hands dirty with oil and grease. Sounds amazing, right? It is this sensory jubilation that gives Caton’s first creation a medal of honour, not so much for the object and its intrinsic value as a sports car with the features of a timeless classic, but for having in the end only reinvigorated something that bordered perfection at the time and which can now enjoy a second youth. Think of your favorite car and imagine having it like new, in some respects even better. Well, you know who to call. Right or wrong.