The Sprite was announced to the press in Monte Carlo by the British Motor Corporation on 20 May 1958, two days after that year's Monaco Grand Prix.

[citation needed] The Sprite was designed by the Donald Healey Motor Company, with production being undertaken at the MG factory at Abingdon.

The Sprite quickly became affectionately known as the "frogeye" in the UK and the "bugeye" in the US, because its headlights were prominently mounted on top of the bonnet, inboard of the front wings.

The car's distinctive frontal styling bore a strong resemblance to the defunct American 1951 Crosley Super Sport.

The Sprite's chassis design was the world's first volume-production sports car to use unitary construction, where the sheet metal body panels (apart from the bonnet) take many of the structural stresses.

The front sheet-metal assembly, including the bonnet (hood) and wings, was a one-piece unit, hinged from the back, that swung up to allow access to the engine compartment.

The 43 bhp, 948 cc OHV engine (coded 9CC) was derived from the Austin A35 and Morris Minor 1000 models, also BMC products, but upgraded with twin 11⁄8 inch SU carburettors.

There was also no boot lid, owing to the need to retain as much structural integrity as possible, and access to the spare wheel and luggage compartment was achieved by tilting the seat-backs forward and reaching under the rear deck, a process likened to potholing by many owners, as the space available was dark but cavernous.

Because of its affordability and practicality, the Austin-Healey Sprite was developed into a formidable competition car, assuming many variants by John Sprinzel, Speedwell and WSM.

[6] Innocenti also produced their own version of the Sprite, using the standard production underframe (initially shipped out from England), but with Italian styling by the American Tom Tjaarda, then working at Carrozzeria Ghia.

Separate brake and clutch master cylinders were fitted, as car manufacturers' thoughts began to turn to making their products safer.

[11] On US market versions the larger engine sacrificed some of its performance from 1968 on, through the use of smog pumps and other modifications to comply with federal emission control requirements.

At the same time reversing lamps were made a standard fitment and the cars' electrical system was switched to negative earth and powered by an alternator rather than a dynamo.

Alongside a new range of body colours, both cars now had the same grille, based on the plainer square-mesh design of the MkII-onwards Sprite but now finished in satin black with the addition of a chrome embellisher.

Some body colours could now be ordered with the option of the seats, door trim and floor carpets in beige rather than the standard black.

[14] There was no direct successor, as BL's extensive range already contained the MG Midget, which was identical to the Sprite except for badging, and the similarly dimensioned and priced Triumph Spitfire.

Barry Bilbie (the chassis designer) utilised the results to produce a streamlined body, built in Birmabright alloy at Healey's Warwick workshops by Bill Buckingham and Terry Westwood.

These cars were powered by BMC's Courthouse Green's tuned engines and eventually produced a reliable 110 bhp, which enabled a top speed of around 150 mph on the Mulsanne Straight.

BMC works entries recorded class wins at Sebring with drivers including Stirling Moss, Bruce McLaren and Steve McQueen, as well as competing in the Targa Florio and Mugello sports car races.

Sprites were imported into Australia in completely knocked down (CKD) kit form and assembled by the Pressed Metal Corporation at Enfield, in New South Wales.

[15] The Innocenti Spider originally sold well in Italy, with production running at 13 cars per day in 1962, but it had a hard time competing against the cheaper Sprite in export markets.

The Tifosi Rana Frogeye Sprite replica retains a significant amount of the character and appeal of the original version by using the MG Midget as its basis.

They are supplied and/or built by Halls Garage near Bourne in Lincolnshire, home of the now defunct BRM Formula 1 racing cars.

[citation needed] The first examples of these cars were restoration kits which used a ladder frame chassis to do away with the often rusted-out original body shell.

Another “engineering superstar” who also contributed to the Healey Frogeye development was John Ackroyd who designed Thrust2, which held the world land speed record from 4 October 1983 to 25 September 1997.

On 24 May 2008, the official UK golden anniversary of the introduction of the Austin Healey Sprite, "Spridget 50 – The Big Party" was held at the British Heritage Motor Centre at Gaydon, Warwickshire.