1959 Austin-Healey Sprite - UBX 968

The instantly recognisable Sprite quickly became affectionately known as the "frogeye" in the UK and the "bugeye" in the US, because its headlights were prominently mounted on top of the bonnet.

The car's designers had intended that the headlights could be retracted when not in use, but cost cutting by BMC led to the flip-up mechanism being deleted, therefore the headlights were simply fixed in a permanently upright position, giving the car its most distinctive feature.

This is the last car shot from the 2013 Newby Hall event. I still have a few more photos which I might upload at a later date, but they will most likely be added into my Dogs & People At Car Shows album.

, Berny, , Indycaver (Norm) and 3 other people have particularly liked this photo

14 comments - The latest ones

autofantasia ^club

So glad you like it Anémone and thank you for the star! :)

8 years ago.

Keith Burton ^club

Beautiful little motor..........looking great in the sunshine. It looks to be in amazing condition.

Very nicely taken Paul.

8 years ago.

autofantasia ^club has replied to Keith Burton ^club

Thanks for that Keith ... always great when you find a good looking car parked up in isolation! :)

8 years ago.

Esther ^club

It's rather cute.

8 years ago.

autofantasia ^club has replied to Esther ^club

I thought so too Esther! :)

8 years ago.

Sami Serola (inactiv… ^club

Nice car indeed! =)

8 years ago.

autofantasia ^club has replied to Sami Serola (inactiv… ^club

Glad you like it Sami and thanks for taking time to comment! :)

8 years ago.

Sami Serola (inactiv… ^club has replied to autofantasia ^club

Well, as I have said before, cars does not usually interest me. But I do keep my eyes open for classic beauties! =)

8 years ago.

Gudrun ^club

The frog eyes do look rather sweet;-) In those days cars still had character...

8 years ago. Edited 8 years ago.

autofantasia ^club has replied to Gudrun ^club

Certainly much different Gudrun to what they produce nowadays! :(

8 years ago.

Indycaver (Norm) ^club

Great car and photo Paul!

8 years ago.

autofantasia ^club has replied to Indycaver (Norm) ^club

Thank you Norm! :)

8 years ago.

John FitzGerald ^club

I ebt they added some drag, too, the bugeyes. On the other hand, the paint is cold-blooded, and (I may well be wrong) that looks like a factory colour.

And as I recall it was a total babe magnet (I never had one, of course).

8 years ago. Edited 8 years ago.

autofantasia ^club has replied to John FitzGerald ^club

Ha, yes I hadn't thought about how the eyes would impact on the drag coefficient John, but then I don't suppose they worried too much about such things back then! :)

8 years ago.

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1959 Austin-Healey Sprite - UBX 968

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