The Austin Healey Bug Eyed Sprite
This is none other than the Austin Healey Bug-eyed Sprite, in my opinion, the cutest car on the road. It's Antoine's favorite car and he hopes to get one soon. Its about as long as a Geo Metro, but only about half as tall! In fact, a Metro up to a Sprite makes the Metro look huge! But don't be fooled, the Metro is still a crappy little car, and the cute little Sprite can oust it any day. The original engine size in a Sprite was 948cc, not too great. With this little engine that was even smaller than a metro's, it struggled for 20 seconds to get up to sixty. The poor little guy's top speed was only 80mph! He was still a lively little fellow though, and took turns like a champion. Of course, some people put an engine that was a little bigger in there(1.2 liter). Then this little guy did a lot better. He gets up to 60mph in less than half his original time, and can make it to almost 100mph!! And that's without tweeking, heh. Take that Metro!!! Fix him up a little, and he might even scare a big Healey! Well, sitting in this little car might scare you too, going over 100mph at least. These little cars hug the road, and will never leave unless you drive crazy. Working on its little engine is said to be easier than working on a VW Bug's! Okay, so you're still not convinced that its a good car? Well, the gas milage with the 948cc is around 35mpg. With the 1.2 liter its still around 27mpg! Not bad for a little guy with such a nice roar. Roar? Well, once you start up the engine, this little thing will roar as healthily as a big healey, but with a little more buzz. Too small? Well, it does look tiny on the outside, but it can fit a six footer, unlike a Miata. How? Well, you're sitting so low to the ground, it doesn't seem small at all! Plus, it looks great with almost any paint job, but my favorite is leaf green. Then it lives up to what the British call it, the "frog-eye Sprite." Well, if you want to buy one, a good drivable one would cost around $5,000. For a good restoration project, you might be able to get one
around $3000 if you look hard enough. The most you'll pay is around $15,000, and that's only for the best, and still that's too much. When you're buying one, look for a few things, like rust rot, bad seals, or screwy headlamps. A Sprite is sort of easy to restore, but it can get expensive. Also, make sure the alignment's good. Sprites are only about 4 inches off the ground, and will take a little roughness over speed bumps if you hit them too fast. Overall, in my opinion, a Sprite is a great alternate for a big healey or a Miata. The Bug-eyes were made from 1958 to 1961. After that, the Sprite was still made, but it lost its smile, and started looking like an MG Midget, its cute, but not as cute half-brother. These are called "box-Sprites."