‘Bugeye’ Sprite was an instant sensation
The Austin Healey Sprite recaptured the sports-car spirit of its 1930s namesake, the small, eager Riley Sprite. At the same time, it also recaptured the essence of the first post-war MGs by providing driving enjoyment way beyond its basic mechanical credentials. And it did so at a very affordable price.
A new element of fun entered North American driving in the years following the Second World War when English sports cars began arriving.
The MG TC and TD roadsters were the first, some brought back by returning military personnel. It made MG the quintessential definition of a sports car. The fabulous Jaguar XK120, Triumph TR2, Austin-Healey 100 and others followed.
As seems inevitable, the tendency in cars is to gradually grow larger and more expensive. MG was not immune, and by the mid-50s the trend was observed by Sir Leonard Lord, head of MG’s parent British Motor Corp., formed in 1952 by the merger of Britain’s two largest automakers, Austin and Morris.
Lord saw sports cars moving out of the reach of the entry-level enthusiasts who bought those early MGs. To address this concern, he contacted his old friend Donald Healey, a talented practical engineer and former competition driver who had been technical director of Triumph Motor Co. before the Second World War.
After the war, he established Donald Healey Motor Co. of Warwick, England, in 1946. They built a variety of cars, including the sporty Silverstone model, and later developed the popular Austin-Healey 100.
To hold the price of this basic new sports car down, Healey’s instructions were to keep its design simple and straightforward and to use as many existing components as possible.
The tiny Austin A-35 sedan provided the A-armand-coil-spring front suspension, four-speed transmission and rear axle. Power came from BMC’s Aseries 948 cc, overhead-valve Morris Minor 1000/Austin A35 inline four. When fitted with twin SU carburetors it produced 43 horsepower, up from the Minor’s 37.
Steering was Morris Minor rack-and-pinion, and the basic quarter elliptic rear suspension was also courtesy of the A-35. Those springs concentrated the rear suspension loads near the middle of the car, allowing a lighter rear end because it did not need to support much weight. The construction was light enough to keep curb weight at only 662 kilograms.
This sturdy, well-proved hardware was wrapped in a simple, steel unit-construction (a first for British sports cars) envelope body with rudimentary but attractive lines. The only jarring note was the headlamp placement. Being semirecessed into the hood, they stood up like a frog or bug’s eyes. The car was almost immediately, and affectionately, nicknamed the “Bugeye” Sprite.
The originally specified concealed flip-up headlamps were eliminated by cost considerations, but it turned out that those bug-eyed lights rebounded to its favour; they became the Sprite’s most distinctive feature.
Further cost-cutting was evident in the elimination of a trunk lid, making it awkward accessing the spare tire and the limited luggage space behind the two bucket seats. But this contributed to a body more resistant to twisting, a common problem in open cars. A fabric top and side curtains provided basic weather protection, and a metal top was soon made optional.
Access to the engine, front suspension and steering was excellent because the whole front section of the body hinged upward from the cowl, looking as if it were going to “eat” the service attendant.
The diminutive Sprite rode on a short 2,032-millimetre wheelbase and was only 3,480 mm long. It stood just 1,219 mm high with the top up.
The Bugeye Sprite was built from May 1958 to April 1961, during which time almost 50,000 were produced. It was an instant success both on road and track because of its low initial price (under $2,000), ease of maintenance, excellent yet forgiving handling and quick, precise steering.
Performance, according to Road & Track in August 1958, could only be termed moderate. It recorded zero to 100 km/h in 20.8 seconds and top speed of 126 km/h, MG TD territory. But at least it felt fast, and for more serious enthusiasts many aftermarket performance parts were readily available to transform the Sprite. Sprites provided the initial ride for many famous race drivers.
Most Sprites were exported to North America. When Bugeye production ceased in 1961, it was replaced by the Mark II version, whose headlamps were conventional but not nearly as distinctive.
As was BMC’s wont, a “badge engineered” corporate clone, the MG Midget Mark I, was spun off at that time. Although the Sprite had lost its exclusivity, production continued until 1969. Countless sports-car enthusiasts still look back with fond memories to those original Bugeye Sprites.