The Austin-Healey Sprite is a small open sports car that was announced to the press in Monte Carlo by 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 Company, with production being undertaken by Austin-Healey. It first went on sale at a price of £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.