Austin Sprite - World Of Classic Cars -

Austin Sprite Mk. IV 1970

First introduced at Monte Carlo by the British Motor Corporation (BMC) on the 20 May1958 and intended as a low-cost model, the Sprite was designed by the Donald Healey Motor Company, which received a royalty payment from the manufacturers BMC. The low cost of £669 was achieved by using a mildly tuned version of the A Series engine and as many other components from existing cars as possible.
Manufactured at the MG sports car factory at Abingdon, it was not surprising  that the success of the design would lead to an MG version, this was  known as the Midget.  These cars, the Sprites and MG Midgets are often now known as ""Spridgets"".  The final version of the Austin Healey Sprite arrived in 1966, as the Mk IV. The new model now used a twin carb 1275cc version of the proven A Series engine, which it shared with other BMC models such as the Mini Cooper S.  Another major improvement was the addition of a folding hood; previous models consisted of a separate hood cover and frame.  In 1969 a ""British Leyland"" makeover was applied to the Sprite, consisting of matt black paint on the sills, Rostyle wheels and a plastic front grille. Between 1969 and 1970, the Austin Healey name disappeared and all cars were now sold as Austin Sprites.