The Sprite caravan brand has perhaps the longest and most well documented rise through the tomes of caravanning history
Created by 23 year old Sam Alper, the first ever Sprite was constructed from war surplus materials in 1947, after the end of the second world war. Due to a shortage of supplies, it was built using barrage balloon material for the roof and the suspension and brakes came from a Spitfire fighter.
Post war austerity
In response to a demand for holidays in the austerity of post war Britain, Alper pulled together an affordable caravan design that could be purchased for around £200. Despite undergoing numerous changes in ownership and design, this cost-friendly approach has been upheld throughout the Sprite brands lifetime.
A master of marketing, Alper toured his caravans throughout Europe taking them on numerous punishing rallies to prove their strength and resilience, all the time building Sprite’s reputation among British caravanners.
Staying power
After years of sustained growth, Sam Alper’s company Caravans International, went into liquidation during the 1980s recession and in 1982 it was bought by Hull based caravan manufacturer Cosalt. The Sprite brand continued to be manufactured under the division ‘Cosalt International’ until the 1990’s when the firm decided to focus exclusively on the static caravan market selling the touring caravan arm of the business to Swift Leisure in 1992.
The Sprite brand proved its resilience yet again in 2009 when it survived a streamlining exercise under the new ownership. Swift Caravans dropped the other brands it has inherited from Cosalt International, but the Sprite series was retained and has proved to be one of their most popular entry level caravan marques.
Swift’s seven model Sprite line up went on to include the Finesse 2, Alpine 2, Alpine 4, Musketeer TD Musketeer EB, Major 6, and the twin axle Quattro FB. The compact lightweight Finesse 2 was the smallest of the bunch. Standing at 3.66m in length with an MTPLM of 1,084kg – it is compact enough to be matched with less powerful towcars such as a VW Golf or Vauxhall Corsa.
In 2016, Swift enhanced its Sprite range to provide a more high-end look to the Alpine, Major and Quatro offerings, replacing its single front window with three opening ones. New graphics and screen printed Seitz C6 windows with a graphic grey tint added to the new look, as did the new side marker running lights which were changed to LED.
Additional features were also introduced, including a new ‘Elodie’ soft furnishing scheme as standard. Interior lighting also saw an LED overhaul.
For 2016, Swift also introduced three new models by way of the Sprite Freedom range: the Freedom 6, Freedom 6TD and Freedom FB.
Swift’s 2016 Sprite caravans also featured a more advanced take on Swift’s trusty construction system, with the introduction of SMART Plus, featuring a new sandwich floor construction with a GRP outer skin, providing better protection from the elements, a hail resistant roof and the window front jig replaced with full GRP and foam construction.
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