Austin-Healey Frogeye Sprite MkI

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Designed by Donald Healey in partnership with BMC, the MkI Sprite was launched in 1958 and proved such a hit that it spawned a whole new generation of factory-built back-to-basics sportscars, killing off the budget home-build kits that turned redundant Austin 7 and Ford 10 chassis into quasi sports cars at a stroke.

Based around humble A35 underpinnings, it inspired huge public affection due to its lively road manners and cute 'Frogeye' styling – a happy accident that only came about because the pop-up headlights that the car was designed for proved too costly to mass produce and were changed at the last minute to the fixed pods that so define the car today. Updated in 1961 with a more orthodox front-end, it also got badged as an MG and soldiered on until the late '70s, finally ending with the demise of the rubber-bumper Midget 1500.

This project vehicle was purchased by the vendor in 2012, joining a long line-up of cars awaiting his attention. Despite the significant improvement in life-expectancy and the notion that we will have a good chance of remaining active well into our 80s, he has realised that there is still no chance that the Frogeye will ever get finished and is reluctantly offering it for sale.

Issued with the London registration number WUV 277 in March 1959, little is known of its history, other than a receipt dating from 1977 which shows that it was sold for £270 and a buff log book showing some of its early owners. Bidders are advised that there is no V5 with the vehicle, but it is still recognised on the DVLA computer so the successful bidder should be able to apply for a replacement V5 in the usual way.

Sold with a pair of doors which look to have come from a different vehicle, the vendor hopes to have the engine running in time for the sale. The bonnet is steel and an original dashboard with the correct speedometer and rev counter and a windscreen are also included.

This car will require a thorough bodywork restoration, however all of the necessary panels are easily available and this rewarding project looks a lot less challenging than some of the Frogeye projects that we have sold in recent years.