1959 Austin-Healey Bonneville Sebring Sprite Historic Rally Car - .BONHAMS AUCTIONS Goodwood Revival Sale Saturday 14th September 2019 Goodwood Circuit, Chichester

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FEATURED AUCTION

.BONHAMS AUCTIONS

Goodwood Revival Sale

Saturday 14th September 2019
Goodwood Circuit, Chichester

1959 Austin-Healey Bonneville Sebring Sprite Historic Rally Car

Registration no. FEY 678

Chassis no. AN526435

*Present ownership for 27 years

*Supercharged 960cc A-Series engine

*Extensively campaigned on historic rallies

*Extensively up-rated

*FIA/MSA homologated

Footnotes

• Intended to make sports car motoring available to a wider market, the Donald Healey-designed Sprite entered production in March 1958. The car's unitary construction bodyshell featured a distinctive forward-hinging bonnet/wings topped by two 'Frog Eye' headlamps, thus ensuring instant recognition and the now-familiar nickname. Despite a Spartan equipment level - even the front bumper was listed as an extra! - the 'Frog Eye' sold well, which was not really surprising as there was nothing competing with it either on price or performance.
  
  
  Light, small and nimble, the Sprite soon found its way into the competition, and the works entry of John Sprinzel immediately took a class win on the 1958 Alpine Rally. Healey and Sprinzel then set about improving the Sprite fitting disc brakes and revised front bodywork to produce the Sebring Sprite. Although never a product of BMC, it is a model recognised in its own right by the FIA. Meanwhile back in Abingdon, the BMC Competitions Department set about developing a supercharged version to capture land speed records at the famous Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah. Flushed with success, a supercharger was subsequently offered as a tuning option and hence the supercharged Bonneville was homologated in 1962.
  
  
  This charming classic rally car has been loved, developed and campaigned by its current owner for 27 years, amassing an impressive competition record. It has competed in approximately 20 major rallies including the Monte Carlo Historique (twice), Classic Marathon (twice), the Rally of the Tests (twice), and Liège-Rome-Liège, securing various class wins and even a Concours trophy. This working competition car has all the right bits and comes with an extensive history file. Specification highlights include the following:
  
  
  948cc A-Series engine bored to 960cc
  Big-valve cylinder head
  Lightened flywheel
  Shorrock C75 supercharger
  Triple-row radiator
  Correct smooth-case gearbox with needle roller bearings
  Straight-cut close-ratio gear cluster
  4.5:1 differential
  Up-rated half-shafts and bearings
  Up-rated suspension
  Lockheed front discs brakes and up-rated rear drums
  Works type 9-gallon fuel tank with guard
  Period Sebring seats
  Works-type glassfibre hardtop
  Williams & Pritchard Sebring front end
  
  
  Available only because owner is a little less 'spritely' than he was, the car comes with an owner's handbook, BMIHT Certificate, FIA/MSA Historic Vehicle Identity Form, MSA Historic Technical Passport, FIA/MSA Historic Regularity Rally Car Pass, RAC/MSA homologation papers, Shorrock supercharger fitting instructions, and an engine build sheet.

SOURCE: https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/25454/lot/295/

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