My first Bugeye was Nevada Beige, and the red one I bought in '97 turned out to be an original Nevada Beige car as well. Between them not making many, and many of them painted over different colors, it's true, you rarely see them.
I liked the color well enough when I bought it, but it has also grown on me to the point where I like it quite a bit. It's different - and I like that fact and just have an affinity for offbeat original colors anyway - and it just has a classy quality to it, IMO. I think it would be a little too drab with a black interior, but with the red interior I think it works real well.
In one sense it seems like an odd color to offer on such a car in the first place. I mean I could understand a family sedan in Nevada Beige in the era, but on this tiny, wild-looking sports car?!? BMC must have had a strange person "doing their colors" in those days, or maybe they just got a deal on war surplus desert camouflage paint?
By the way, since I live in Oregon I always end up flying to car events in the eastern USA and renting a car. Boring. However, a friend in Louisville has offered to store a car for me - and he's a Sprite guy who has even raced them, so it will be in very good hands - and so next August I'll ship this Bugeye there and it will become my "east coast events car." That way for any event in the eastern USA that I want to attend, I can fly to Louisville and drive the Bugeye from there. Almost all of the eastern half of the USA is within a two-day drive of Louisville, and this car cruises at 70 MPH no sweat. Its first planned eastern event is the Austin-Healey Southeastern Classic in Sevierville, Tennessee, September 24-27, 2015. They are promoting it as "a three-day Conclave" and it's expected to be really big. I'm already looking forward to driving it on the
Tail of the Dragon!