Spridgets and Dune Buggies

[twas_brillig]

I was reading a Bugeye article in Hagerty yesterday, and it had the standard (because it's true) summary of the birth of the wee beastie: "The short version of the Sprite story starts in the late 1950s, when the Brits were already selling as many two-seaters to sports car-hungry Americans as they could screw together. But Donald Healey saw another opening in the market. There were plenty of young enthusiasts itching for a nimble roadster who didn’t quite have the cash for something like a Porsche or even the Austin-Healey 100. "

Bruce Meyers (creator of the Meyers Manx dune buggy) passed away quite recently, age 94 - I was fortunate enough to meet him twice a few years ago.

And it seems to me that his creation was incredibly similar: a nimble roadster accessible for those who didn't have the cash for more. Also similar acceleration and top speed, and both creations have provided 'miles and smiles' to owners and passerbys for many, many decades.

Doug

 

[SaxMan]

I would agree. Neither one, at least on paper, seemed particularly fast, but the driving experience sure did. I love running up the revs in the Sprite where it feels like you're accelerating at breakneck speed, and then look down at your speedometer and see your barely past 40 miles per hour.

From what I recall about the development of the Sprite, the quote from Donald Healey went something like "A car for the average bloke that would fit in the bicycle shed."

The other thing these cars share are the number of smiles they generate.