Competition
The Sprite (and its MG Midget sibling) have been successful club level race cars since their launch and continue to race in various events to this day. International events were entered throughout the 1960s and surprisingly good results were achieved, including a 12th place finish at Le Mans in 1965. The works cars began with use of a commercially available fibreglass-bodied Sprite (with a Falcon body) before utilising lightweight body panels of standard appearance. By the mid-60s, use was made of the wind-tunnel at Longbridge. 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 engine shop's Eddie Meyer's tuned engines and eventually produced a reliable 110 bhp which enabled a top speed of around 150 mph on the Mulsanne straight. One-off gearboxes were made by the same team, with MGB gearboxes modified with an externally-mounted 5th gear and overdrive in some cases. BMC works entries recorded class wins at Sebring, with such drivers as Stirling Moss, Bruce McLaren and Steve McQueen taking the wheel, as well as the Targa Florio and Mugello sports car races.
Read more about this topic: Austin-Healey Sprite
Famous quotes containing the word competition:
“The praise of ancient authors proceeds not from the reverence of the dead, but from the competition and mutual envy of the living.”
—Thomas Hobbes (1588–1679)
“Every sect is a moral check on its neighbour. Competition is as wholesome in religion as in commerce.”
—Walter Savage Landor (1775–1864)
“Never before has a generation of parents faced such awesome competition with the mass media for their children’s attention. While parents tout the virtues of premarital virginity, drug-free living, nonviolent resolution of social conflict, or character over physical appearance, their values are daily challenged by television soaps, rock music lyrics, tabloid headlines, and movie scenes extolling the importance of physical appearance and conformity.”
—Marianne E. Neifert (20th century)