Sebring Sprite
Encyclopedia
The Austin-Healey
Sebring Sprite was a modified version of the Austin-Healey Sprite
which gained recognition by the governing body of motorsport, the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile
, as a separate model in its own right. The car featured Girling disc brakes as well as engine and chassis improvements, and after its homologation
on 17 September 1960, FIA regulations permitted the use of 'special bodies'. Some Sebring Sprites were subsequently fitted with coupé bodywork in aluminium alloy and glassfibre, the most strikingly attractive examples being those devised by well-known race and rally driver John Sprinzel
, who had won the 1959 RAC British Rally Championship. Sprinzel commissioned the coachbuilders Williams & Pritchard, renowned for their racing and prototype bodies, to produce it. The name 'Sebring Sprite' would become a generic term for any Sprite with disc brakes, and later for any Sprite with coupé or fastback bodywork.
, Florida, in March 1959, the BMC Competition Department entered three Austin-Healey Sprites in the 12 Hours Grand Prix d'Endurance. The cars were prepared by Donald's son Geoffrey Healey at the company's Cape Works in Warwick, and were fitted with Dunlop
disc brakes on all four wheels as well as wire wheels (and tyres) from the same company. Larger 1-inch SU carburetors gave the engines more performance and the cars were raced by Hugh Sutherland, Phil Stiles, Ed Leavens, Dr Harold Kunz, Fred Hayes, John Christy and John Colgate Jnr. Despite setbacks, the Sprites managed to finish first, second and third in their class, and their success in this premier sportscar race, which was part of FIA World Sportscar Championship, gave valuable publicity to BMC in the important North American market.
drove a Sebring Sprite to a class win and second overall in this event. In the twelve-hour race, John Sprinzel drove a special glassfibre-bodied Sebring Sprite built and enetered by the Donald Healey Motor Company to another impressive class win, finishing 41st overall.
, in which future world champion Graham Hill
would subsequently play a major role. Sprinzel left Speedwell at the end of 1959 to set up the Healey Speed Equipment Division for Donald Healey, but not before developing a sleek, alloy-bodied Sprite coupe, the Speedwell GT, designed by aerodynamicist Frank Costin and built by Williams & Pritchard. Leaving the Healeys to set up his own tuning and race preparation concern at Lancaster Mews in December 1960, Sprinzel launched his Williams & Pritchard-bodied coupe to immediate acclaim at the Racing Car Show in London. Sprinzel Sebring Sprites were soon being built for racers Ian Walker, Cyril Simson, Andrew Hedges and Chris Williams, and for BMC works rally driver David Seigle-Morris. Sprinzel's personal Sebring Sprite bore the registration number PMO 200, and he campaigned the car at Sebring and in international rallies as well as races throughout the 1961 season, culminating in an outright win in the Targa Rusticana rally at the beginning of 1962.
, Dick Thompson, Bruce McLaren
and Walt Hansgen
. There were also two of John Sprinzel's striking coupes, piloted by one of the top-rated Grand Prix drivers of all time, Stirling Moss, together with his sister Pat Moss
, Britain's most successful woman rally driver. The Sebring Sprites finished in six of the top eight places in the 4-hour race for one-litre GT cars. In the 12-hour race, Sebring Sprites were driven by Ed Leavens, John Colgate, Joe Buzetta, Glenn Carlson, Cyril Simson and future F1 driver Paul Hawkins to strong performances, finishing 2nd, 3rd and 4th in class and 15th and 25th and 37th overall.
The car was built to the same homologated specification of the Sprinzel Sprites. The alloy roof was crafted by Alan Thompson who was working for Aston Martin at the time. The fibreglass front end was made Williams & Pritchard, the same coachbuilders responsible for the Sprinzel cars.
The car appears on page 176 of John Sprinzels excellent book Spritely Years and in the register at the back of the book.
In 1965 ownership was passed to Peter Webster, who fitted a 1650cc Ford and used it with some success in sprints/hillclimbs. In 1967 the engine was changed for a 1498cc Cosworth, developing around 130 - 140 bhp, with a Cortina GT gearbox. It is known to have won the 1600cc class at the St. John Horsfall meeting at Silverstone on 24th June 1967 with Peter driving.
embarked on the production of a faithful replica to enable this remarkably beautiful design to reach a wider audience. Over a period of twenty years, nearly a hundred cars have been built using Brian Archer's reproduction bodywork, many finished to an extremely high standard. Raced and rallied by Martin Ingalll and other drivers, Brian Archer Sebring Sprites have achieved a distinguished record in historic competition. Since Brian Archer's untimely death in 2008, his business partner Andrew Forster is carrying on the tradition with the support of a devoted and ever-increasing band of Sebring Sprite enthusiasts.
Austin-Healey
Austin-Healey was a British sports car maker. The marque was established through a joint-venture arrangement, set up in 1952 between Leonard Lord of the Austin division of the British Motor Corporation and the Donald Healey Motor Company, a renowned automotive engineering and design...
Sebring Sprite was a modified version of the Austin-Healey Sprite
Austin-Healey Sprite
The Austin-Healey Sprite is a small open sports car which was announced to the press in Monte Carlo by the British Motor Corporation 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...
which gained recognition by the governing body of motorsport, the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile
Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile
The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile is a non-profit association established as the Association Internationale des Automobile Clubs Reconnus on 20 June 1904 to represent the interests of motoring organisations and motor car users...
, as a separate model in its own right. The car featured Girling disc brakes as well as engine and chassis improvements, and after its homologation
Homologation
Homologation is a technical term, derived from the Greek homologeo for "to agree", which is generally used in English to signify the granting of approval by an official authority...
on 17 September 1960, FIA regulations permitted the use of 'special bodies'. Some Sebring Sprites were subsequently fitted with coupé bodywork in aluminium alloy and glassfibre, the most strikingly attractive examples being those devised by well-known race and rally driver John Sprinzel
John Sprinzel
John Sprinzel is a German born British former auto racing driver. He was renowned for competing in saloon car racing and rallying. Sprinzel finished third overall in the inaugural 1958 British Saloon Car Championship season driving for his own Team Speedwell in an Austin A35. He was British Rally...
, who had won the 1959 RAC British Rally Championship. Sprinzel commissioned the coachbuilders Williams & Pritchard, renowned for their racing and prototype bodies, to produce it. The name 'Sebring Sprite' would become a generic term for any Sprite with disc brakes, and later for any Sprite with coupé or fastback bodywork.
Sebring 1959 Class domination
For the celebrated long-distance race at SebringSebring, Florida
Sebring is a city in Highlands County, Florida, United States, nicknamed "The City on the Circle", in reference to Circle Drive, the center of the Sebring Downtown Historic District...
, Florida, in March 1959, the BMC Competition Department entered three Austin-Healey Sprites in the 12 Hours Grand Prix d'Endurance. The cars were prepared by Donald's son Geoffrey Healey at the company's Cape Works in Warwick, and were fitted with Dunlop
Dunlop Rubber
Dunlop Rubber was a company based in the United Kingdom which manufactured tyres and other rubber products for most of the 20th century. It was acquired by BTR plc in 1985. Since then, ownership of the Dunlop trade-names has been fragmented.-Early history:...
disc brakes on all four wheels as well as wire wheels (and tyres) from the same company. Larger 1-inch SU carburetors gave the engines more performance and the cars were raced by Hugh Sutherland, Phil Stiles, Ed Leavens, Dr Harold Kunz, Fred Hayes, John Christy and John Colgate Jnr. Despite setbacks, the Sprites managed to finish first, second and third in their class, and their success in this premier sportscar race, which was part of FIA World Sportscar Championship, gave valuable publicity to BMC in the important North American market.
Sebring 1960
Because of increasing safety worries about the speed differential between the smallest and largest-engined cars, a separate four-hour race for 1,000cc cars was organized at Sebring in 1960. Stirling MossStirling Moss
Sir Stirling Craufurd Moss, OBE FIE is a former racing driver from England...
drove a Sebring Sprite to a class win and second overall in this event. In the twelve-hour race, John Sprinzel drove a special glassfibre-bodied Sebring Sprite built and enetered by the Donald Healey Motor Company to another impressive class win, finishing 41st overall.
Sprinzel's Sebring Sprites debut at the London Racing Car Show
Before developing the Sebring Sprite coupe, John Sprinzel had founded the prominent tuning firm SpeedwellSpeedwell
- Places named Speedwell :* Speedwell, Bristol, in England* Speedwell Island, one of the Falkland Islands* Speedwell, New Jersey, an unincorporated community* Speedwell, Tennessee, an unincorporated community* Speedwell, Virginia, an unincorporated community...
, in which future world champion Graham Hill
Graham Hill
Norman Graham Hill was a British racing driver and two-time Formula One World Champion. He is the only driver to win the Triple Crown of Motorsport — the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Indianapolis 500 and Formula One World Championship.Graham Hill and his son Damon are the only father and son pair both to...
would subsequently play a major role. Sprinzel left Speedwell at the end of 1959 to set up the Healey Speed Equipment Division for Donald Healey, but not before developing a sleek, alloy-bodied Sprite coupe, the Speedwell GT, designed by aerodynamicist Frank Costin and built by Williams & Pritchard. Leaving the Healeys to set up his own tuning and race preparation concern at Lancaster Mews in December 1960, Sprinzel launched his Williams & Pritchard-bodied coupe to immediate acclaim at the Racing Car Show in London. Sprinzel Sebring Sprites were soon being built for racers Ian Walker, Cyril Simson, Andrew Hedges and Chris Williams, and for BMC works rally driver David Seigle-Morris. Sprinzel's personal Sebring Sprite bore the registration number PMO 200, and he campaigned the car at Sebring and in international rallies as well as races throughout the 1961 season, culminating in an outright win in the Targa Rusticana rally at the beginning of 1962.
Sebring 1961
No less than 7 Sebring Sprites contested the long-distance races at Sebring in 1961. Five Healey-prepared BMC works cars were driven by Ed Leavens, Briggs CunninghamBriggs Cunningham
Briggs Swift Cunningham II was an American entrepreneur and sportsman, who raced automobiles and yachts. Born into a wealthy family, he became a racing car constructor, driver, and team owner as well as a sports car manufacturer and automobile collector.He skippered the victorious yacht Columbia...
, Dick Thompson, Bruce McLaren
Bruce McLaren
Bruce Leslie McLaren , born in Auckland, New Zealand, was a race-car designer, driver, engineer and inventor....
and Walt Hansgen
Walt Hansgen
Walt Hansgen was a racecar driver from the United States. His racing career began as a road racing driver...
. There were also two of John Sprinzel's striking coupes, piloted by one of the top-rated Grand Prix drivers of all time, Stirling Moss, together with his sister Pat Moss
Pat Moss
Pat Moss, after her marriage Pat Moss-Carlsson, was one of the most successful female auto rally drivers of all time, scoring 3 outright wins and 7 Podium Finishes in international rallies. She was crowned European Ladies' Rally Champion five times...
, Britain's most successful woman rally driver. The Sebring Sprites finished in six of the top eight places in the 4-hour race for one-litre GT cars. In the 12-hour race, Sebring Sprites were driven by Ed Leavens, John Colgate, Joe Buzetta, Glenn Carlson, Cyril Simson and future F1 driver Paul Hawkins to strong performances, finishing 2nd, 3rd and 4th in class and 15th and 25th and 37th overall.
Sebring Sprites
Over the years, the cars were sold to privateers who raced and rallied them. In later years, the Sebring Sprite became a prized possession and the object of veneration within the Austin-Healey fraternity. Enthusiasts sought out the cars, sometimes discovering them in advanced stages of deterioration. Today, the cars are cherished classics that can be driven to and from competitions just like the originals were in their day. One such car is the "Lumbertubs" Sprite. Built by brothers Brian and Ken Myers in 1963 on a MKI bare Sprite chassis, Lumbertubs is named after the lane in which they lived.The car was built to the same homologated specification of the Sprinzel Sprites. The alloy roof was crafted by Alan Thompson who was working for Aston Martin at the time. The fibreglass front end was made Williams & Pritchard, the same coachbuilders responsible for the Sprinzel cars.
The car appears on page 176 of John Sprinzels excellent book Spritely Years and in the register at the back of the book.
In 1965 ownership was passed to Peter Webster, who fitted a 1650cc Ford and used it with some success in sprints/hillclimbs. In 1967 the engine was changed for a 1498cc Cosworth, developing around 130 - 140 bhp, with a Cortina GT gearbox. It is known to have won the 1600cc class at the St. John Horsfall meeting at Silverstone on 24th June 1967 with Peter driving.
Replica Sebring Sprites
Because there were so few original cars, very few Austin-Healey fans ever had the chance to admire the Williams & Pritchard coachwork, designed and commissioned by John Sprinzel. Sprite restorer Brian ArcherBrian Archer
Brian Roper Archer was an Australian Senator who represented the Liberal Party for the state of Tasmania. He served as a Senator for from 13 December 1975 to 31 January 1994....
embarked on the production of a faithful replica to enable this remarkably beautiful design to reach a wider audience. Over a period of twenty years, nearly a hundred cars have been built using Brian Archer's reproduction bodywork, many finished to an extremely high standard. Raced and rallied by Martin Ingalll and other drivers, Brian Archer Sebring Sprites have achieved a distinguished record in historic competition. Since Brian Archer's untimely death in 2008, his business partner Andrew Forster is carrying on the tradition with the support of a devoted and ever-increasing band of Sebring Sprite enthusiasts.