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Austin Mini

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Austin Mini
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There were a total of 5 Austin Healey Sprite Models created over the production life of this popular little English sports car. The production life of the Austin Healey Sprite Mark I lasted from 1958 until 1969 for models sent to America and, until 1971, for those sold domestically in England.

Back in 1956, Donald Healey and his son started to come up with a concept car that would fill a void that was present in the market place. The void was for an inexpensive sports car the average worker could afford. By 1958, this concept car was a reality and released at the Monte Carlo Grand Prix as the first Austin Healey Sprite model.

Originally, it was designed to have pop up headlights but due to their weight and costs, this was eliminated and the legend of the bugeye was born. The name bugeye or frogeye originated from the placement of the headlights on the hood along with the grill lending the front of the car to have a face with pop up eyes.

This bugeye became very popular very fast. Not only was its appearance unique but also the price tag of less than $2000 is in America. The performance was moderate with a top speed of just over 80 mph, but since it was so low to the ground with only 5 inches ground clearance, its handling was fantastic.

The production of this first model went from 1958 until 1961 when the upper management misinterpreted a slowdown in sales as the car having outlived its life expectancy. A total of 48,987 cars rolled off the production line in those first 3 years. This is when major reconstruction on the appearance of the car took place.

At the end of 1961, the Austin Healey Sprite Mark Ii was introduced to the world. Because of the popularity of the Mark I, the MG Midget was also brought into production with its own version of the Sprite Mark II. Both cars were made, side by side, in the same production plant in Abingdon, England.

Because these two cars were almost indistinguishable, both were referred to as the Spridgets. Gone were the distinctive bugeye headlight placements. These were moved to the more conventional position on the wings of the front fenders.

There were a few other changes to the car. The overall length of the new Mark II was shortened, by 1.5 inches, to 136 inches total and the weight of the car increased from 1464 pounds to 1543 pounds.

In the engine compartment, the compression ratio of the engine also increased from 8.30:1 to 9.0:1. This helped to increase the horse power from 45.6 to 47.1.

Through the remaining models of the Austin Healey Sprite, the MG version was nearly an exact duplicate. There were a total of 31,665 Mark II made until this production run ended in 1964. From 1964 until 1966, the Austin Healey Mark III was produced with a total of 25,905 units made. This model had a larger 1098cc engine and the length was only slightly increased to 136.3 inches.

The last Austin Healey Sprite was the Mark IV. Its production run lasted from 1966 until 1969 with the production of 20,357 cars. At that point, the Healey name was dropped for the last 2 years of the cars production. It was simply known as the Austin Sprite, and 2,433 cars were made and sold only in the UK.

So technically speaking, only 4 Austin Healey Sprite Models were made under the full name, but the last two years are included by all Austin Healey enthusiasts to make the total number to 5.

Samantha Wrick is a writer about the fun of doing a complete Austin Healey Sprite Models. If you prefer to to join Austin healey Sports Car Clubs you will want to click the second link.

Go ahead and follow through to read much more at our main website and the fun awaits you on the sports car clubs. Thanks for reading and joining.

Restoring and driving an Austin Healey is great fun!

Is It A Mini Cooper, Mini, Cooper Or What?

The title of the Mini Cooper causes all kinds of confusion with car enthusiasts. Is the car a small version of a Cooper or is it just a Mini and Cooper is the model or what? We address the issue and provide an answer in this article.

The Mini Cooper revival has been a stunning success this decade. Any revival, of course, presupposes an original episode. In the case of the Mini Cooper, the first was not built in 2000. It was built in 1959. BMW may own the brand now, but it was BMC [British Motor Company] that came up with the idea. The BMC was good at ideas, but not so good at running a car business. This meant the car was passed to different ownership through the years and much of its popularity waned as it was never serious updated for the times until BMW purchased it in 1994 and launched the modern Mini Cooper in 2001.

The name of the Mini Cooper gives rise to a lot of arguments. Is the car a Mini or is it a Cooper. History gives us the answer. In the late 1950s, the United Kingdom was going through a gas shortage caused when the Middle East OPEC countries cut off gas supplies given the UK’s involvement in the Suez Canal mess. The English people were looking for gas friendly cars and there were no British made options. The people were buying [gasp!] German cars to fill the gap. The BMC decided to come up with their own small subcompact and you can guess what it was.

The first car launched by the BMC was not called a Mini Cooper. In fact, neither term was used. It was called an Austin Seven, but was also released as a Morris Mini-Minor under a second brand owned by BMC. In 1961, the Austin Mini was released in the UK, the first time the name Mini was used. A year later, the car was just called the Mini.

In the question of who came first, the Mini or Cooper, the Mini is the clear winner as applied to this car. So, what is the story with Cooper then? Surely that name played some role in the process? Indeed it did.

John Cooper designed Formula One and Rally cars. His company was known as the Cooper Car Company. He was friends with the original designer of the Mini and thought the car would be a tremendous rally car. In 1961, BMC gave John Cooper permission to build a Mini rally car. He built a base model known as the Mini Cooper. He designed a more powerful version known as the Mini Cooper “S”. This second version was entered into the famous Monaco Rally and won it on one occasion.

Minis have always been sold through the years, but Mini Coopers have been produced off and on. Most Minis were not Cooper versions, but were instead known as Marks such as Mini Mark IVs and the like. There was even a Mini pickup! Regardless, BMW has exclusively used the Mini Cooper name for all of its models with a performance version known as the “S” being created for each.

So, who came first? The answer is Mini. The Cooper was a version of the Mini until the turn of the century when BMW launched the modern car and used the full name on all the models.

About the Author

Dirk Gibson is with DCJ Auto Parts where you can get more Mini Cooper information and parts at low, low prices.

How many miles per gallon would a 1972 Mini Cooper Austin get (roughly)?

You mean, if it wasn't a pile of rust in the driveway?

Driven gently maybe 30-35, but they are such a hoot you will probably drive flat out and get 15-18.

The originals are SO much more fun than those bloated yuppy mobiles around today.

Chile minister in hot seat
Chile's Health Minister is in the hot seat over a car accident last year in which the president's brother smashed into an Austin Mini with his Hummer. New President Sebastian Pinera has joked about having to take care of his brother...

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