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Austin-Healey Sprite
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=={{anchor|Innocenti|Spider}}Innocenti Spider and C Coupé== [[File:1962 Innocenti Spider.jpg|thumb|1962 Innocenti 950 Spider]] At the 1960 Turin Auto Show, BMC's Italian partner [[Innocenti]] showed a small Spider built upon Sprite underpinnings. The car was the first design of [[Tom Tjaarda]]'s, drawn for [[Carrozzeria Ghia]]. Ghia's partner firm [[Officine Stampaggi Industriali|OSI]] built the bodyshells, when the car entered production in early 1961.<ref name="CCars">{{cite journal | ref = HesR | title = British Beef, Italian Sauce | journal = Thoroughbred & Classic Cars | issue = 433 |date=August 2009 | last = Heseltine | first = Richard | issn = 0143-7267 | publisher = Bauer Automotive | location = Peterborough, UK | page = 98 }}</ref> The original Innocenti 950 Spider had the Frogeye's 948 cc engine with {{convert|43|hp|kW|abbr=on}}, 624 of these were built. Later in 1961 an uprated {{convert|46.5|hp|kW|0|abbr=on}} was installed. In February 1963 the 1098 cc "S" model was introduced, this also had front disc brakes to cope with the extra power.<ref name="CCars"/> The 1100 has {{convert|58|hp|kW|abbr=on}} and could also be fitted with a removable hardtop. The Spider wasn't a mere reshelling, as the entire bulkhead was moved forward to provide longer doors and a more modern look. Unlike the spartan Frogeye, the Spider also had wind-up windows.<ref name=Hes101>[[#HesR|Heseltine]], p. 101</ref> 4,790 of the 950 Spiders were built, and 2,074 of the 1100 cc Spiders.<ref name="CCars"/> [[File:1969 Innocenti C 1.1.jpg|thumb|left|Innocenti C coupé]] 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. As more modern competitors arrived and as the British-built Sprite was modernised, sales dropped precipitously, with only 63 cars built in 1965.<ref name="CCars"/> Thus, Innocenti presented the reworked Innocenti Coupé in September 1966, still with the same 1100 engine as seen in late Spiders. The badging on the car simply read "Innocenti C". The Coupé's all-new bodywork designed by [[Sergio Sartorelli]] was wider and longer than the Spider's, and the wheelbase was extended by 150 mm to {{convert|2180|mm|in|1|abbr=on}}. The floorpan was reworked to allow for the seats to be mounted lower than in a Sprite, making the cabin less cramped.<ref name=Hes101/> It was competitively priced in the Italian market, slotting nicely between the smaller [[Fiat 850|Fiat 850 Coupé]] and the bigger [[Fiat 124 Sport Spider]].<ref name="TAM67">{{Cite book | title = Quattroruote Speciale: Tutte le Auto del Mondo 1967 | publisher = Editoriale Domus S.p.A |date=February 1967 | language = it | pages = 148–149 | location = Milano}} It cost 1,190,000 lira, versus 950,000 for the 850 Coupé and 1,550,000 for the 124.</ref> Only 794 were built when production ended in 1968. {{clear}}
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