"When I was a young man I really, really wanted to buy a new sports car. But being in the army and, later, graduate school, my income made that a marginal proposition. As a grad student with teaching assistant and summer research pay, I could (barely) afford a later version of the Sprite. I rejected getting one because I thought it was too small from a safety standpoint, not to mention its limited capacity for carrying things such as suitcases or even groceries.
"As for the first-generation Sprites, the bug-eye feature was an additional turn-off. They made the car look cheap."
A facelifted Mark II Sprite was launched during the 1961 model year along with a badge-engineered vesion called the MG Midget. The Wikipedia link for the Sprite is here and that for the Midget is here.
The small size I mentioned is indicated by the wheelbases of those cars throughout their production runs (1958-1971 for the Sprite, 1961-1980 for the Midget): 80 inches (2032 mm).
My thinking notwithstanding, those cars sold well. From what I gather from the Wikipedia entries (as of December 2023), around 131,000 Sprites were built and Midget production was about 227,000 for an approximate total of 358,000.
The original Sprite frontal styling with its "smile" grille and "Bugeye" headlights ("Frogeye" in the UK). They were intended to be retractable, but it was decided that would add too much to the intended low price. I think retractable headlights and a different grille would have made that design better.
A simple shape in profile (aside from those headlights) -- a good solution for such a small car. Note the hood cutline. The entire front end pivots upwards via hinges at the cowling to allow access to the motor.
Very simple. So simple that there is no trunk lid.
The massive facelift. Doors cutlines are retained along with the now nonfunctional one between the door and front wheel opening. The fenderline is new and the frontal design is conventional.
The Midget was marketed as an upscale Sprite. Grille bars are vertical rather than a mesh, and that side chrome strip added some visual length to the design.
Hoods (bonnets) of Mk. I Sprites and Mk.I Midgets were conventional, rear-hinged.
Now there is a trunk lid. Tail lights on Mk.II Sprites and Midgets are those also used on the new (in 1962) MGB sports car.
The facelift left the cockpit nearly untouched. Compare this dashboard to the Mk. I Sprite's in the the following image.
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