Back Austin-Healey Sprite Czech Austin-Healey Sprite Danish Austin-Healey Sprite German Austin-Healey Sprite Spanish Austin-Healey Sprite French Austin-Healey Sprite Italian Austin-Healey Sprite Dutch Austin-Healey Sprite Polish Austin-Healey Sprite Portuguese Austin-Healey Sprite SCO
| Austin-Healey Sprite | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Overview | |
| Manufacturer | Austin-Healey (BMC, later British Leyland) |
| Also called | Austin Sprite |
| Production | 1958–1971 |
| Assembly | Abingdon, England Enfield, New South Wales, Australia[1] |
| Body and chassis | |
| Class | Sports car |
| Body style | 2-door roadster |
| Layout | FR layout |
| Related | MG Midget |
The Austin-Healey Sprite is a small open sports car produced in the United Kingdom from 1958 until 1971. The Sprite was announced to the press in Monte Carlo by the British Motor Corporation on 20 May 1958, two days after 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.[citation needed] The Sprite was designed by the Donald Healey Motor Company, with production being undertaken at the MG factory at Abingdon. It first went on sale for £669, using a tuned version of the Austin A-Series engine and as many other components from existing cars as possible to keep costs down.
When the Mk. II Sprite was introduced in 1961 it was joined by a badge-engineered MG version, the Midget, reviving a model name used by MG from the late 1920s through to the mid-1950s. Enthusiasts often refer to these later Sprites and Midgets collectively as "Spridgets." The MG-badged version of the car continued in production for several years after the Austin-Healey brand ceased to exist.
- ^ Whats(sic) is a Sprite or Midget, ie a Spridget? The Sprite Car Club of Australia, www.spriteclub.com Retrieved on 22 July 2012 via web.archive.org