The Austin-Healey Sprite is a small roadster which was announced to the press in Monte Carlo by the British Motor Corp.(BMC) on 20 May 1958, just before that year's Monaco Grand Prix. It was intended to be a low-cost model that "a chap could keep in his bike shed", yet be the successor to the sporting versions of the pre-war Austin Seven.
The Sprite was designed by the Donald Healey Motor Co., which received a royalty payment from the manufacturers BMC. It first went on sale at a price of £669, using a mildly tuned version of the Austin A-Series engine (948 ccm) and as many other components from existing cars as possible to keep costs down. All four Sprite versions were assembled at the MG sports car factory at Abingdon until 1971.
Classic Roadster ´s bugeye became the Spite´s MK IV 1275 ccm engine implanted, which was also used in several Mini Cooper S versions ; with a Weber carb and a Cannon manifold it develops 72 HP/53 KW. The brakes were also modified and have discs on the front axle and larger drums on the rear axle. |
