Vehicle Description
1961 Austin Healey Sprite Mk I Bugeye
2dr Convertible
4-cyl. 948cc/43hp
2x1bbl
The Austin-Healey Sprite, introduced for 1959, continued the
collaboration between Austin and The Donald Healey Motor Company
and took further advantage of the massive British Motor Corporation
parts bin. Although it was aimed at the very bottom of the sports
car market, the Sprite used a modern unibody and offered precise
handling if modest acceleration from its 948cc A-series overhead
valve engine and transmission with synchromesh on the top three
gears.
To keep costs down, the independent front suspension was joined by
a live rear axle with quarter-elliptic springs, braking was by
front and rear drums, and the headlamps - originally intended to
pop up - were fixed in the up position. Thanks to the grinning
grille and those bulging headlamps, the car was dubbed the "Bugeye"
Sprite, or "Frogeye" in the U.K. The Sprite quickly gained a
following and they could be seen racing for several decades.
