It wasn’t that long ago when the Austin Healey Sprite celebrated its golden anniversary (50 years) in the UK. If you did not have the pleasure of attending the event that took place in May 2008 known as Spridget 50, you can at least read all about it in this article.
There certainly has not been a good enough amount of coverage on the event since it took place, so I figured this would be a good opportunity for me to write about it in order to fill that gap.
Spridget 50 was held at the British Heritage Motor Centre at Gaydon in Warwickshire here in England. The event boasted a record of a whopping 1000+ Sprites and Midgets in attendance! 900+ was the modest estimate, and 1000+ was hoped for.
The number looked more like it was around 1200 in the end, which is further again even more than expected. This was no doubt the first time in history that an event of such size had been supported and promoted by every marque-representing club, including Austin Healey Club, Healey Drivers Club and UK’s Midget and Sprite Club.
The event looked great and the atmosphere was thriving. The event consisted of a large grassy area surrounding a car park where a beautiful, colorful array of Midget and Sprite motors were neatly parked. It was every Austin Healey fan’s dream. It was a fantastic day filled with Midget and Sprite owners, enthusiasts and individuals from the various marque-representing clubs, all of whom were socializing around the variety of stunning vehicles.
The event really was all about cars, and that was one of the beauties about it. The majority of people turning up were true enthusiasts, meaning you could actually talk to almost anyone there about the cars, rather than the event being filled with families that sometimes pick such events at random for a day out without knowing anything much about the motors. This made the event a real breath of fresh air and more enjoyable.
I have to say, the event was even more interesting than expected. It had plenty of modded stuff and a couple of V8′s including an orange-red Frogeye with awesome slot mags. And apart from the motor owners and enthusiasts, there were also restorers and racers. This made it an opportunity to discuss and ask certain people about repairing your own Sprite motor(s).
Also, there were several planned road runs that were thoroughly enjoyable – definitely a highlight of the event. It made it far more than just a simple showcase.
If you missed the opportunity to attend the fantastic Spridget 50 event, don’t worry. International Midget Day will be celebrated within the upcoming year – 12th June 2011, to be precise. It will be held at Burghley House in Stamford, and will be a similar day-long event to that of Spridget 50. If you are in England or at least have the opportunity to visit when June 2011 comes, don’t miss it!
To receive information on tickets and pricing, you can get it e-mailed to you as soon as the details are available by registering at http://www.midget50.com to get onto the mailing list.
