As recently formed car brands battle it out for sales with marques that have existed for generations, it’s somewhat inevitable that some will fall by wayside. And yet, changes to the established order are nothing new. Many, many automotive names have come and gone over the last century or so of motoring, some of them well-known to enthusiasts, and others little more than footnotes in history.
The ones we’ve brought together here will certainly be familiar, but – Rover aside – the 1970s and ’80s would see all of them disappear for good. So now seemed as good a time as any to celebrate the cars that were the last hurrah for these much-loved marques, and we reckon they are well worth remembering.
AUSTIN-HEALEY SPRITE (1961-1971)
Mention this marque and many people will think of the ‘big Healeys’ like the 3000, but it’s a smaller one that marked the end of the line. The body shape appeared in 1961 as the Sprite Mk2 and was built in the same Abingdon factory as the near-identical MG Midget – hence the collective colloquialism of ‘Spridget’. The Sprite progressed through Mk3 and Mk4, with the latter pairing the little roadster with the 1275cc A-Series engine for the first time. While outright performance was modest, the Sprite was big on entertainment.
A proper folding hood made the Mk4 more usable than previous
