Super Sprite

Bugeye Of The Week! 1380 CC, five-speed, “Cars & Coffee-killing” Bugeye Sprite for sale! Videos!

March 3, 2023 by bugeyeguy

NOW SOLD to Cliff from New York! Congratulations on taking home Bugeye #383!

This week we have added custom black & red retractable three point seat belts as well as a hand made black tonneau with matching red stitching! Nothing but the best for our latest “Super Sprite!”

We have added a freshly-striped license plate plinthe to the rear of Gray, as well as a blacked-out license plate light housing. Every inch of Gray has been obsessed over in an effort to build the ultimate Super Sprite; we hope you’ll agree! Check out the post below and give us a call if Gray is the car for you!

NEW plinthe with matching stripes installed this week! Read below for more details!

Check out the driving video (above) and walk-around tour (below) of this wonderful automobile and give us a call if you’re interested!

If you have been looking for a one of a kind hot-rodded Bugeye Sprite, this stunner is worth a serious look! “Gray” is a Bugeye modified with many of the upgrades we have proven on my own personal modded Bugeye, “Gumby.” This is a special vehicle for anyone looking for the ultimate super Sprite. We’ve now built close to 500 Sprites, and this one has the benefit of our experience with pushing the envelope far enough to make these cars spectacular, but not so far that we lose the DNA of the original machine. We have also adorned the car with numerous high-end custom cosmetic subtleties. The end result is a special and unique work of art.

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Liberty earns her stripes!

January 27, 2023 by bugeyeguy

It’s risky business to try and improve the style of our favorite time-honored classic. See if you agree that we have done just that in the project shown here.

Liberty has always been a sharp Bugeye, but it needed a little something extra to address some imperfections in the paint and also add a little pizazz.

Over the years, we’ve seen dozens of different ways people try to stripe their Sprite, but inevitably there are only so many options. The most popular is the twin stripes down the center of the car. occasionally will see an offset center stripe and often also see some enhancement around the grill, where the stripes will follow the contour and expand around the mouth of the grill, a bit like lipstick.

A conventional center-stripe pattern as shown on Gray.
(Click here to check this car out!)

Another popular choice, an offset stripe, as seen on Midnight. (Click here to check out Midnight for yourself!)

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Build your ultimate Bugeye

December 21, 2022 by bugeyeguy

This week, we take a deeper dive into our super Sprite “Gray,” and get closer to what makes this car so special and unique. Countless hours over the past several years have been spent to make this car particularly special, and here are a few videos to give you a taste of our latest creation.

There are so many mods on Gray, I thought you would enjoy a detailed tour. And you can also see a drive in the second video below. Keep in mind this is a brand new engine with very few miles, still breaking-in.

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Bugeye Sprite Driving Impressions From 61 Years Ago Still Ring True Today!

November 4, 2022 by bugeyeguy

With our recent focus on the first production Sprite and concours accuracy, I thought you might find the following article particularly interesting. The April 1961 issue of Car and Driver Magazine featured a road research report which is reprinted below. I found it very interesting to read Bugeye driving impressions from 61 years ago.

The article makes it abundantly clear that Bugeyes are a very malleable platform. In the report, you’ll see the stock Sprite reviewed, and a pile of parts offered to transform your Bugeye into a capable rally or race machine. The author made it quite clear that the car was designed to do many different things with simplicity and grace. (Check out the end of this post to see the article in its entirety.)

Credit: Car & Driver Magazine, April 1961

Since 2007, we’ve transformed hundreds of Bugeyes; just as the article predicted in 1961, some folks enjoy the stock version, and others prefer to customize their ride.

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Shelby Says Sayonara!

June 24, 2022 by bugeyeguy

Shelby is ready to depart!

It’s always particularly special when we get a car back in our shop that we previously prepared because the car inevitably leaves with new improvements each time through. In this case, Shelby has been here for two prior owners and now is ready for Vernon in Oklahoma, the third owner to push the car to new heights.

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Super Sprite #003 now complete

August 18, 2018 by bugeyeguy

Here’s our latest build, our third “Super Sprite,” (our ultimate Bugeyes), custom built to the owner’s specifications. This one has a stock 1275 engine with a four speed transmission. Most upgraded is the appearance and attutude, with head fairing, hard tonneau, brooklands screen, performance exhaust and custom color scheme. We also converted the hubs to run new wire wheels. The car will head home to Alabama this weekend.

Everything is new and driving the car is a delight. The small screen shields your head more than one might think… I put about 30 miles on the car in 80 degree weather and found it quite pleasant. The only downside of the small screen is that the wind wanted to steal my Bugeyeguy baseball hat.

What is a Super Sprite? Every Sprite is “super,” but after the 230+ we’ve sent out the door, the three that stand out the most are our custom builds with special graphics and features that have them turn heads just a little more than usual. Each time we fit and stripe a hard tonneau on a Bugeye it activates my D-Jag passion. There is something so appealing about the flat-topped “aerodynamic” racing sports cars of the 50s and 60s and a hard tonneau evokes that spirit.

The head fairing also feels like it belongs and reinforces the message–all the business happens on the driver side. Everything else is built for speed, and whether 45 or 65 or 100 HP, it’s just plain fun to have a Bugeye that looks like a miniature period racer.

#001 Morgan (silver) was supercharged with a fuel injection. #002 Gumby (green) features four-port injection with a cross-flow aluminum head. This white car (#003) is only mildly upgraded as far as performance is concerned. They’re all probably slower than mom’s new mini van. But if you want to burn a smile into your face that will last for your entire trip inside the grocery store, we’d like to build #004 for you.

Also worth noting is “bees knees” (AKA “Goldie”) another super car we built for Ron from Rhode Island (below). This is another impressive custom Sprite that delivers a similar look with different components. Ron chose a single hoop roll bar with integrated pillow and many of his own Super Sprite modifications. This car retains the original 948 engine with a fantastic exhaust note that makes the car feel like a giant-killer.

If you like these modified cars, you can see Gumby and Goldie at the Lime Rock Concours on Sunday September 2nd. Come say hello!