Sprite turns 60

The Sprite caravan series in South Africa has just celebrated its sixtieth birthday. That’s why Jurgens Campworld, who manufactures Sprite, has introduced a fourth model: The Sprite Swing LX (60 in Roman numerals).

The newcomer’s biggest difference is the washroom, which is similar to that of the Sprite Tourer SP. The dinette had to be sacrificed for this. The washroom has a cassette toilet and hand basin, and a shower outside. The kitchen and island bed remain unchanged. The LX costs R292 727 compared to the R275 425 of the standard Swing.

Back in the day, Sprite was imported to the then Rhodesia by one John Moody. These caravans were taken apart and then rebuilt locally. John moved his plant to Pinetown in KwaZulu-Natal in 1960 – the Sprite Alpine was the first model to be launched here, with the Sprite 400 following shortly thereafter. They cost £425 and £400 respectively. In 1964, Sprite made headlines when Jimmy Alterskye towed the first caravan up the Sani Pass – an Alpine model to boot.

In the 1980s, Sprite dominated the caravan market after starting to use a new building method – vacuum lamination – for the panels. This made the Sprite caravans lighter and stronger than its competitors, Gypsey and Jurgens.

In 1994, however, Jurgens purchased the company Ci Caravans, that built Sprite.

In addition to the new Sprite Swing LX, the Sprite Tourer series – which currently consists of the Tourer SP and SW – also gets a new model: the Tourer SX. Contact campworld.co.za