Talking about Group B of the rally world is talking about cars like the Audi Quattro, Peugeot 205 T16 or Ford RS 200. However, in the rally world squad of this “golden era” there were more humble and “unknown” models, such as the Mazda RX-7 or the car we were talking about today, the MG Metro 6R4.
As you know, Group B was born in 1982, and like many other brands, Austin-Rover wanted to participate. However, unlike other brands, Austin-Rover was not in a very favorable financial situation, so when it decided to create its Group B model it had to be… creative.
So, the British company decided to take advantage of the fact of being a sponsor of Williams and decided to ask them for a hand (did it come from here the idea that Group B were road Formula 1s?). With the support of the Formula 1 team assured, Austin-Rover decided that the model that would serve as the basis for the rally car should be the… Austin Metro — this one, the little townsman who was supposed to replace the Mini.
MG Metro 6R4 is born
To create its Group B model, Austin-Rover opted for a slightly different path than the competition did. Instead of opting for a four- or five-cylinder in-line turbo engine, Austin-Rover opted for a naturally aspirated V6 engine with around 406 hp — no turbo lag… This would be mounted in a central position and the power was distributed by the four wheels.
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Named MG Metro 6R4 (the six refers to the number of cylinders, the “R” to the fact that it is a rally car and the four to the number of drive wheels), the small Austin Metro on steroids retained very little of its model. served as a basis.
Despite having achieved third place in the UK rally in 1985, the small rally car was affected by reliability issues which meant that it did not finish many of the rallies in which it participated. The end of Group B in 1986 made it one of the most peculiar and least known cars of the “golden age” of rallying.
The homologation version
As you know, one of the rules for participating in Group B was the existence of a homologation version. This is how road models were born, such as the Peugeot 205 T16, the Citroën BX4TC and, of course, the example of the MG Metro 6R4 we are talking about today.In all, 220 units of the MG Metro 6R4 were produced. Of these, 200 were road-legal units, designated “Clubman”. They delivered around 250 hp and had more in common with the competition model than with the Austin Metro that gave rise to it.
The MG Metro 6R4 that is up for auction
The copy that will be auctioned by Silverstone Auctions on January 12th is number 111 of the 200 road-legal units. It was purchased new in 1988 by Williams' marketing department (yes, the Formula 1 team) who sold it in 2005 and arrived in 2015 in the hands of the current owner.
Purchased new by Williams, the tiny MG Metro 6R4 only covered 175 miles (about 282 km) over 33 years.
Despite being 33 years old, this MG Metro 6R4 He walked little or nothing in his life, having covered only 175 miles (about 282 km). Despite the low mileage, this MG Metro 6R4 underwent a mechanical restoration in 2017.
If you were in the mood to buy this piece of history from the Group B of the World Rally Championship, the car will be up for auction on January 12th and the estimated price is between 180,000 and 200,000 pounds (between about 200 thousand and 223 thousand euros).