Austin Healey Sprite 1960 images

This 1960 Austin-Healey Sprite carries one of the most recognizable faces in sports car history, those bulging round headlights that earned it the nickname “Bugeye” on this side of the Atlantic. But the badge on this particular car claims an engine the real Mark I Sprite never actually used. Whether it’s a swap or a simple mix-up, it’s worth knowing before you chase this one down.

1960 Austin Healey Sprite 1275cc 4-Speed Manual

MCF thanks Gateway Classic Cars for the images provided here.

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A Badge That Doesn’t Match the Engine

The badge on this 1960 roadster says 1275cc, but that number tells a story that doesn’t quite line up, because the real Mark I Sprite never came with that engine at all. What Donald Healey and the British Motor Corporation actually shipped in 1960 was something far smaller and scrappier, and arguably more charming than the spec sheet here suggests. This is the car that earned the nickname “Bugeye” for its bulging round headlights, and it did something no other affordable sports car had managed before it. Once you know what was really under the hood, the Sprite’s place in sports car history looks a lot more interesting than a simple mix-up would suggest.

The Real Engine Behind the Bugeye Nickname

Genuine Mark I Sprites, built from 1958 through 1961, ran a 948cc inline-four borrowed straight from the Austin A35, good for roughly 43 horsepower and paired with a 4-speed manual and rack-and-pinion steering lifted from the Morris Minor. The larger 1275cc engine didn’t show up in the Sprite bloodline until the later Mark III and Mark IV cars years down the road, so a “1960 Sprite with a 1275” is either a later engine swap or a listing mix-up, worth knowing before you chase down a numbers-matching example.

The World’s First High-Volume Unibody Sports Car

Small engine aside, the Sprite’s significance is real: it’s widely credited as the world’s first high-volume unibody sports car, built to undercut the pricier MGA by sharing parts across the British Motor Corporation lineup. That budget-friendly formula didn’t stop it from winning on track, with class victories and podium finishes at Sebring in 1959 and 1960, plus class wins at Le Mans, proving the little Bugeye could run with cars that cost far more.

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