XOH 276

I heard recently from Gerhard Hutzler, an automobile engineer living near Munich in Bavaria, Germany who has owned two rather special Sprites one of which is an important "works" car not seen in the UK since the early 1980s. Built on 25th November 1958, XOH 276 was prepared by Donald Healey and his team for the Monte Carlo and Alpine rallies at the end of 1958. Its early history is detailed in John Sprinzel and Tom Coulthards' book "Spritely Years":-

“Cherry/Colorado Red. Car prepared by the Donald Healey Motor Company at the Cape Works, Warwick. 1959 Monte Carlo and Sestriere Rallies (with number plates XOH277). Equipped with wire wheels for the 1959 Alpine Rally (and probably also Girling disc brakes). Later loaned or sold to Cecil Winby of BRICO, the British Piston Ring Company, who co-drove a works big Healey with Tommy Wisdom in the last ‘true’ Mille Miglia in 1957. Advertised for sale from Lancaster Mews in November 1961 (when it definitely had discs), this car is known to have survived in relatively original condition into the late 70’s when it was still being used in club racing, owned by Bob Slessor (not Julian Dussek, as previously thought). It is believed to have been sold to Germany”.

John Sprinzel, with hands on hips, confers with Tommy Wisdom on the 1959 Monte Carlo Rally. Sprinzel, co-driving with Willy Cave, finished 14th overall and third in class, while Wisdom, sharing his car [XOH 276]with Douglas Johns, was 63rd overall and fifth in class. The other two cars of Baxter/Reece and Wilson-Spratt/ Baylies both retired. [Photo and caption courtesy of "The Sprites & Midgets" by Eric Dymock]	Tommy Wisdom and Douglas Johns in the 1959 Monte Carlo rally. Note the standard grille has been opened up for extra cooling. [Picture and caption courtesy of "More Healeys" by Geoffrey Healey]		A thoughtful Marcus Chambers, BMC's team manager, Tommy Wisdom and Donald Healey ponder on their works car's performance on the Alpine Rally.The grille of this car, with Jack Hay at the wheel, has been opened out to allow in extra cooling air.[Courtesy of "The Sprites & Midgets" - Eric Dymock]	The motoring press gather round of the soon-to-retire team of Sprites during the Alpine Rally, in June 1960.This is the Tommy Wisdom/ Jack Hay car, and while Hay wearing a soft hat, peers beneath the uplifted bonnet, Wisdom, in peaked cap, talks to Courtenay Edwards, facing the camera, Harold Nockolds, facing Wisdom in plastic raincoat, and smartly suited Basil Cardew - a gathering composed entirely of past and future Chairmen of the Guild of Motoring Writers. [Courtesy of "The Sprites & Midgets" - Eric Dymock]	One of the two Mk 1 Sprites built especially for rally work at Warwick, on the Alpine Rally driven by journalists Tommy Wisdom and Jack Hay. It finished second overall in the GT category. [Photo & caption courtesy of "More Healeys" by Geoffrey Healey]
		Tommy Wisdom and Douglas Johns at a control on the 1959 Monte.[Courtesy of "BMC/BL Comps Dept" by Bill Price]

		Assistance for Tommy Wisdom (bending) to change a wheel, 1959 Sestrieres Rally. [Courtesy of "BMC/BL Comps Dept" by Bill Price]


XOH photographed soon after its arrival in Germany in 1980

** XOH 277 was also built 25 / 11 / 1958 and was Old English white. Its plates were swapped by the Comp. Dep. in some rallies on to XOH 276 ( this is described on pages 153 & 213 of "Spritely Years"). It was also prepared at the Cape, but was never a Sebring and was one of the two cars which retired in the 1959 Monte Carlo Rally, driven by Baxter/Reece. In this photo (right) you can clearly see the Donald Healey works hardtop with the deeper side-screens and only 1 deepened ( BMC hardtop has 2) line above the rain edge. The steel front bonnet of XOH 277 shows the standard opening handle which is missing on the GRP bonnet of XOH 276, which opened forwards. [Photo courtesy of "More Healeys" by Geoffrey Healey.]

The registration/continuation book (of XOH 276) shows that an owner who bought the car in Jan 1972 was Derek Frederick Grant of Wallington, Surrey. It was by then light metallic blue with a white hardtop. Alan Anstead of the Midget & Sprite Club tells me that Derek Grant was the secretary of Southern Counties Austin Healey Club around that time.

It was MOT tested by Henry Streeter Automotive Ltd in Beckenham, Kent in August, 1979. (This was presumably for Bob Slessor who owned the car at that time).

One of three works cars prepared by the Donald Healey Motor Co at that time, XOH was later painted light metallic blue with a white hardtop but is now again painted red, is still right-hand drive, and retains the Sebring bonnet and 'works' hardtop with its taller side-screens. Now fitted with a 1300 engine with split-Weber carburettors, the car was recently for sale together with Gerhard's other Sprite, and an original English racing trailer (N.B. not the trailer shown in the photo below). I recall seeing XOH at Lydden Hill circuit about 1979 when it was racing against me in my Frogeye. The car was sold to its first German owner, Hubertus Hueppauf in January 1980. He raced it many times at circuits ‘up in the North’ like Spa Francorchamps where he once won a race in pouring rain in XOH despite its mere 1300cc engine (and split-Webers) in the up to 3000cc class. He also took the car to Erding, Munich where, according to current owner Gerhard Hutzler, it could “eat” a devilishly fast Lotus Elite, a Bavarian champion! In the late 1980’s scrutineers demanded that the bodywork of XOH be overhauled and Hubertus took the car back to England for restoration and it was re-sprayed in red. Following its return to Germany Hubertus found himself unable to continue with his racing due to professional commitments and the car was stored.

Gerhard's second car was one built for speed hill-climbs, painted in racing green, fitted with a Shorrock supercharger with a re-styled body and a GRP (?)Speedwell Monza bonnet and aluminium Kamm tail.

Gerhard bought XOH, and the hill-climb Sprite which was owned by another friend, in January 1990 and set up the Bavarian Antique Racing Team to give himself and his wife low-cost racing with the cars he loves. However his racing plans came to nothing and after years of storage he recently decided to place them on the market as a package which included a number of spares such as gearboxes, various steel, alloy and magnesium wheels and lots of parts for restoration of the cars: headlights, flashers, an alternator, unused safety harnesses, a Speedpilot, and stop-watches. The cars have now been SOLD (2nd Sept 2008).