AVAILABLE AT THE GOODING AND COMPANY AUCTION, SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA,
JANUARY 17-18TH, 2014

Click here to visit the Gooding & Co. website

Formerly the Property of Dr. Jonas Salk and 1963 SCCA National Champion Donna Mae Mims

1959 Austin-Healey Sprite Mk I

• 1963 SCCA H-Production National Champion
• Important Ownership and Racing History
• 2008 Restoration to 1963 Livery
• Accompanied By Extensive Documentation and a BMHT Certificate

Chassis No. AN5-L/16468
948 CC Race Prepared Inline Four-Cylinder Engine
Dual SU 1 Ľ” Sidedraft Carburetors
80 BHP approx. at 7,500 RPM
4-Speed Close-Ratio, Manual Competition Gearbox
Front Disc Brakes with Rear Drums
Front Independent Suspension with Tube Shock Absorbers
Rear 4 Link Live Axle with Watts Linkage and Coilover Shock Absorbers

Very few examples of Austin-Healey’s beloved Sprite boast the impressive
ownership provenance, competition pedigree, and detailed restoration claimed by this fine example. According to a BMHT certificate, this car was built on April 4, 1959, and dispatched from the factory a month later. Distributed to Paris for retail, the Sprite was purchased by Dr. Jonas Salk, the famed developer of the polio vaccine, who imported the car to the US and used it as a daily driver around the University of Pittsburgh campus where he worked.

Dr. Salk soon sold the Sprite to Bill Wissel of Pittsburgh, who prepared it for SCCA racing. In 1962, Mr. Wissel sold the car to its most memorable owner, trailblazing racer Donna Mae Mims. Ms. Mims was Media Relations, and later, Hi Performance Manager for the Legendary Yenko Sport Cars. Donna Mae’s chance meeting in 1960 with Gulf Oil Company executive Grady Davis led to Gulf Oil sponsorship for Don Yenko’s racing Corvettes and many famous race teams to follow such as the JWAE Ford GT40’s and John Wyer’s Porsche 917s. Donna Mae was also the inspiration for the unforgettable Adrienne Barbeau character in the film The Cannonball Run, Ms. Mims is noted among Yenko enthusiasts for her triumphs in Corvettes, but she sealed her renown with this Sprite, which she repainted in her trademark pink.

In this charmingly feminine livery, Ms. Mims drove the car to the 1963 H-Production Class SCCA National Championship, becoming the SCCA’s first female national champion and paving the way for notables from Janet Guthrie and Lyn St. James to Danica Patrick. Ms. Mims’ exploits in the Austin-Healey, appropriately dubbed the “Think Pink” Bugeye Sprite, were the subject of much media coverage, and the consignor has amassed an impressive array of original period articles and publicity prints.

Ms. Mims competed with the Sprite at many famous race circuits such as: VIR, Road America, Marlboro, Mid-Ohio, Road America, Watkins Glen, Bridgehampton, Lime Rock, Meadowdale, Thompson, and Lake Garnett. Ms. Mims would later go on to compete in several Daytona 24hrs, 12hrs of Sebring, SCCA Trans Am, and IMSA events. Several of these races she was a member of the Ring Free Oil Company “all female” race team.

The Sprite continued to race in SCCA H-Production events by two subsequent owners until 1987. “Think Pink” was in storage until purchased by the consignor in 2005, a Missouri-based restorer, who conducted an exacting refurbishment to its 1963 Livery that included vast research into the car’s history. With the Camellia Pink exterior restored just in time for display at the 50th Anniversary Sprite celebration at Mid-Ohio in June 2008, “Think Pink” was reunited with Ms. Mims for the first time in 44 years.
Click here to see a video of the Sprite at the Mid-Ohio reunion

As reflected by numerous letters on pink stationery, Ms. Mims played an integral role in tracing various aspects of the Sprite’s 1963 livery for the restoration, which the consignor went to great lengths to properly replicate. Impressively documented, including coverage in recent issues of Classic Motorsports magazine, this Sprite has experienced minimal road use since restoration and could easily be campaigned in vintage racing events or appreciated at shows for its overwhelmingly authenticity and historical significance.

Below are Pictures, Magazine Articles, Letters to and from Donna Mae, etc.

Click here for Racing Sports Cars Archive on Donna Mae

Click here for an article about women racers with a nice bit about Donna Mae

The images are very large and may take a little extra time to load, please be patient. Thanks

The following are photos taken by her first crew chief, George Stamm, now a retired Episcopal Priest!

This is an article about Donna Mae published in the Mar/Apr 2005 issue of "Vintage Motorsport" magazine