I’m told that’s Dave Mason in white circa 1967 getting into this Bugeye, and Chris Wood, and Jim Capaldi also on the car. These guys, along with Steve Winwood, started the band Traffic in 1967 and their first song was the hit, “Paper Sun.”

This car magazine cover has all the right elements to attract sportscar fans… attractive car, attractive woman… and a rooster? Well, I guess you never knew what you might find in “Fart and Form” magazine back in Maj (May) of 1961.

“Fart” in Swedish, by the way, means “speed.”

I am sad to report that “Fart and Form” is no longer published, and one can only guess why. There’s talk on this particular cover of air resistance and streamlining discussed inside. But I guess in 1961 the speediest way to go out of business was to put a rooster on the cover of your fart magazine.

Check out the whimsical Bugeye Sprite with a cameo in a new Paul McCartney music video “Who Cares.” (you can watch the video by clicking here.)

Why a Bugeye Sprite in this new production? You might remember this vintage photo below of Paul and George in in a Bugeye, so perhaps it was Paul’s idea?

But I have a feeling this choice was the idea of the production designer, who managed all the whimsical art and needed a car in the video that would be the appropriate vehicle for anyone who wants to take a stand and stand-up to bullies at the same time.

You might enjoy the “making of” video linked below, to get a sense of how they came up with the visual style for the piece.

Here’s some Bugeye trivia… the original prototype Bugeye had external door hinges as shown in the photo below, kinda like the Bugeye in the video, although the hinges in the video look more like they came from a sureal hardware store than a classic car parts bin.

So…. who cares if you drive a Bugeye?

I DO!

I know this photo well.

Combing the Internet for vintage Bugeye images over the years, I have run across this picture several times. It speaks volumes to me, of the glory days of amateur sportscar racing, when a Bugeye owner might spend his or her weekend tangling with Minis, Spitfires and the like, and then bolt the windshield back on and drive their Sprite to work Monday morning, for another week at work, all the while longing to be back on the track.

A few weeks ago, I got a call from one Joel Taylor in San Diego, who had raced Bugeyes in the mid 60s, and then open wheel racers. He went on to his professional career, and now, has arrived at a point in life when he wants another Bugeye, after owning a string of Porsches and BMWs of late.

He offered to send me a picture of himself racing in 1965, while driving his former Bugeye at Riverside, in a cotton driving suit, on laps that often eclipsed 120 mph on the back straight.

He sent me the picture above.

PS: It didn’t take long for a few of you to email in doubt of 120 MPH in a Bugeye, so I followed up with Joel to inquire.

He told me that the back straight was at Riverside was a mile long, so the cars were flat out at peak revs. With no speedometer and only a pegged tachometer in the cockpit. No one knows just how fast they were traveling down the straight. But Joel was told it was 120, so we will leave it at that. And does it really matter? These guys were flat-out in their cotton racing suits with just about no safety gear, so whether it was 104 MPH or 120, it was a bold feat representative of a special moment in sportscar history.

For what it’s worth, my Bugeye top speed is 100, which I hit with ease in a 1275/five speed/3.9 car. That was fast enough for me.

For years, Shon’s dad has been telling people that his son is going to give him a Bugeye this Christmas, and for years it has been a family joke. Dad had a Bugeye back in the early 70s, and apparently hasn’t stopped talking about it since.

This year, it was different. And what you see in the video below is one of those events that makes our work particularly special, and makes our year.