1958 Austin-Healey Sprite - Mk 1 "Froschauge"

Affordable sports cars were in short supply in the late 1950s, a fact the British Motor Company had correctly recognized. To fill this gap, they once again turned to Donald Healey. The result was the Austin-Healey Sprite, a roadster that remains exceptionally popular to this day and boasts a large fan base. No one had really reckoned with the little Sprite when it was unveiled almost simultaneously across half the world in May 1958. In Switzerland, the launch took place from 19 May 1958 at the Kursaal in Bern (just one day before the official world premiere in Monte Carlo), and the press coverage began immediately and ran to pages on end; after all, the press didn’t get to report on a completely new sports car every day. The Sprite was developed on the initiative of John Lord, the head of the British Motor Company. As the car was intended to be affordable, compact dimensions and a simple design were essential. With a wheelbase of 203 cm, a length of 337 cm and a width of 135 cm, combined with a height of 126 cm, certainly no space was wasted; after all, it had to carry two tall people along with some luggage. The water-cooled four-cylinder engine was housed beneath a front section of the body that could be swung up completely to the windscreen; power was transmitted to the rear wheels via a four-speed gearbox and a propeller shaft. As a true roadster, the side windows were only fitted in bad weather, and the roof consisted of a plastic tarpaulin and a separately mounted frame. Whilst it was once thought that the basic shape of the bodywork originated from Pininfarina, it now seems certain that the British designer Gerry Croker carried out the groundwork, which was then completed by Les Ireland. One distinctive feature was the arrangement of the headlights. The Austin designers had originally intended to integrate them deep into the side wings, but the car would then not have been roadworthy due to the minimum headlight height required by US regulations. They therefore decided to move the headlights further towards the center and mount them so that they could swivel, similar to the design later seen on the Lamborghini Miura. However, this solution fell victim to budget cuts, and in the end the headlamps were fixed in the extended position, so to speak. Together with the radiator grille and the shape of the swiveling bonnet, the sports car now bore a slight resemblance to a frog, which is why it was also nicknamed ‘Frogeye’. Just three years after the launch of the Austin-Healey Sprite, a new, technically closely related version was unveiled in May 1961. The critics’ comments had been heeded, and the bodywork was designed to reflect the tastes of the time. The rear end foreshadowed that of the MG B, which had not yet been unveiled, whilst the front featured externally mounted headlights and a wide radiator grille. Our first-generation Austin-Healey Sprite was originally delivered to Switzerland and was first registered on 10 October 1958. The history of this ‘Frogeye’ is unknown, but it appears to have been restored a few years ago. The current seller has only driven it for around 2’600 km. For health reasons, he now wishes to part with his beloved Sprite. The roadster is in good to very good overall condition – as it has seen very little use in recent years, it is advisable to have it serviced. The last veteran MOT took place in July 2025, meaning this iconic British car can be registered immediately.