As generations of enthusiasts have discovered, it’s hard to beat an Austin-Healey Sprite. Simple, fun to drive, endlessly modifiable, supported by clubs and specialists alike, and endowed with the biggest chrome grin any car ever wore, a well-sorted Sprite is a can’t-miss ticket to the joys of the roadster life.
The Mk I Sprite is best known by its Bugeye nickname, which needs no explanation. It’s reached Social Security eligibility with a rock-solid fan base that has helped keep values relatively steady over the years, though there does seem to be growing appreciation lately for top-tier examples.
Photo: Terry Shea
The Sprite is one of those rare cars loved not for what it has, but for what it lacks. From the outset, it was designed as a pure sports car, one affordable to enthusiasts who didn’t have enough money for a Porsche 356 or an MGA. But the many compromises made on the way from drawing board to production line, from those unforgettable headlamps to the inaccessible trunk, have become cherished quirks, particularly in an age when so many modern cars seem to have so little character.
Enthusiasts are indebted to Donald Healey and his son, Geoffrey, for the Sprite’s creation. Healey, asked by BMC chairman Leonard Lord to design an affordable, small-bore sports car, wheeled his shopping cart up and down BMC’s parts bins, picking whatever best suited the project. The Austin A35 sedan provided its 948-cc A-series engine, equipped with dual SU carburetors, as well as its four-speed gearbox and front suspension. The Morris Oxford donated its sharp rack-and-pinion steering. The Sprite would be the first mass-produced British car with a unit body, made up of 200 individual pressings.
As the proprietor of marque specialist Bugeyeguys, David Silberkleit has probably bought and sold more of these four-wheeled smile generators than anyone in the U.S. over the past 15 years, with nearly 400 examples passing through the Connecticut-based shop. While David sees the Bugeye as a “holds-its-value car,” rather than a vehicle that will make its owner money, he calls well sorted and/or tastefully modified cars “a sound investment…a better investment than a Big Healey right now.”
Photo: Terry Shea
It may be anecdotal, but more Bugeyes seem to be getting the judges’ attention at shows, helping to raise their visibility. For instance, the first production Bugeye, restored and shown by Bugeyeguys, won its class at the Greenwich Concours d’Sport this year, nosing out a stunning Jaguar XK 140MC. “I think the car is gaining respect,” David says. “I think that’s a metric that matters.” He’s found that collectors are willing to pay more than $50,000 for a car that’s been “improved with all the right stuff.”
Bugeyeguys is unique, and its builds routinely command a premium price, given the extensive fettling and modifications that go into them. Hemmings.com shows 26 ads for Sprites over the past three years, with an average asking price of $17,520. At the time this was written, there were four for sale on the site, priced from $7,500 for a disassembled project to $34,500 for a concours-ready roadster that’s fresh off a restoration. The numbers are similar at classic.com, which has recorded the sale at auction of 157 Sprites over the past five years, with hammer prices ranging from $1,450 for an in-pieces project to $34,100 for a supercharged car prepared for vintage racing.
Value Guide: 1958-61 Austin-Healey Sprite
*Average prices, per NADA
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