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MG Metro 6R4 "Clubman" - pretty short, wide and unconventional

Name: MG Metro 6Re 1986
Brand: MG

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Created on June 14, 2017

Text:

Bruno von Rotz

Photos:

Daniel Reinhard

Artcurial

Balz Schreier

Bruno von Rotz

FabPetersson Fotografie

Goodwood

Petra Sagnak / classiccar-photo.de

Bilstein

Presse Race Retro

Archiv

Daniel Reinhard

Artcurial

Balz Schreier

Bruno von Rotz

FabPetersson Fotografie

Goodwood

Petra Sagnak / classiccar-photo.de

Bilstein

Presse Race Retro

Archiv

MG Metro 6R4 Clubman (1987) - around 3.5 meters long

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MG Metro 6R4 Clubman (1987) - beautiful is and was different

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MG Metro 6R4 Clubman (1987) - almost wider than long

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MG Metro 6R4 Clubman (1987) - over 1.8 meters wide

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MG Metro 6R4 Clubman (1987) - not a classic beauty with all the spoilers

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MG Metro 6R4 Clubman (1987) - ready for action

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MG Metro 6R4 Clubman (1987) - born for rallying

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MG Metro 6R4 Clubman (1987) - the V6 engine installed lengthways but upside down, so to speak

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MG Metro 6R4 Clubman (1987) - right-hand drive as standard

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MG Metro 6R4 Clubman (1987) - economical instrumentation

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MG Metro 6R4 Clubman (1987) - good seats with plenty of lateral support were a matter of course

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MG Metro 6R4 Clubman (1987) - the doors of the Clubman version came from the standard Metro

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MG Metro 6R4 Clubman (1987) - only a thin plexiglass panel shields the crew from the mid-engine

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MG Metro 6R4 Clubman (1987) - Mileage speedometer, rev counter up to 10,000 rpm

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MG Metro 6R4 Clubman (1987) - handwritten mileage on the speedometer

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MG Metro 6R4 Clubman (1987) - Gear stick

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MG Metro 6R4 Clubman (1987) - Center console with fuses

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MG Metro 6R4 Clubman (1987) - Headphones are essential for communication

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MG Metro 6R4 Clubman (1987) - the voluminous exhaust system is intended to dampen the background noise somewhat

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MG Metro 6R4 Clubman (1987) - everything looks pretty handmade

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MG Metro 6R4 Clubman (1987) - Engine number

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MG Metro 6R4 Clubman (1987) - Chassis number

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MG Metro 6R4 Clubman (1987) - Radiator and spare gasoline can in the front "trunk"

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MG Metro 6R4 Clubman (1987) - View into the front compartment

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MG Metro 6R4 Clubman (1987) - Auxiliary headlights

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MG Metro 6R4 Clubman (1987) - Fuel filler neck on the right-hand side

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MG Metro 6R4 Clubman (1987) - hefty extensions

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MG Metro 6R4 Clubman (1987) - Air intake for engine cooling

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MG Metro 6R4 Clubman (1987) - Rims from Compomotive

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MG Metro 6R4 Clubman (1987) - after all - mud flaps

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MG Metro 6R4 Clubman (1987) - Plastic glazing

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Mini Metro (1981) - attractively priced despite the high pound sterling exchange rate, smartly and comfortably furnished

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MG Metro 6R4 Group B (1984) - press presentation of the prototype, still without spoiler front and rear, but with the decapitated Rover engine on board

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MG Metro 6R4 (1986) - with British registration, but left-hand drive

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MG Metro 6R4 (1986) - prepared for rally use

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MG Metro 6R4 (1986) - rally-style on the road

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MG Metro 6R4 (1986) - perhaps the only left-hand drive car ever

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MG Metro 6R4 (1986) - View of the longitudinally mounted engine

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Mini Metro 6R4 - The Group B Mini Metro at the 1986 Monte Carlo Rally

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MG Metro 6R4 Evolution (1986) - the 1986 Monte-Carlo car is (back) at Williams today

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MG Metro 6R4 (1986) - in the special exhibition "Let it B" with Group B rally cars at the Schloss Bensberg Classics 2015

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WRC Classic Rally Germany 2010: MG Metro 6R4 1986

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MG Metro 6R4 Group B (1986) in the "40 Years World Rally Championship" group at the Eifel Rallye Festival 2013

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MG Metro 6R4 (1986) - at the ADAC Eifel Rallye Festival 2014

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MG Metro 6R4 Group B rally car - at the Race Retro 2014

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MG Metro 6R4 Group B Belga (1986) at the Eifel Rallye Festival 2015

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MG Metro 6R4 Group B (1986) - Eifel Rallye Festival 2016

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Austin Metro 6R4 (1984) - Special show "Group B rally cars" - Rétromobile Paris 2017

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MG Metro 6R4 Group B (1986) - Original vehicle Harri Toivonen - Eifel Rallye Festival 2016

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Summary

With the MG Metro 6R4, the Austin-Rover Group wanted to compete against Peugeot and Lancia and their Group B rally cars in the mid-1980s. In contrast to the competition, which relied on turbocharged four-cylinder engines, the Metro opted for a free-breathing naturally aspirated six-cylinder engine, but that was not the only difference to the prevailing opinion. Instead of 200 road-going versions to meet homologation volume requirements, slightly simpler versions were built for ambitious racers. This vehicle report describes the origins and technology of the MG Metro 6R4 and looks specifically at the "Clubman" version.

This article contains the following chapters

The incomplete forerunner
The homologation version
No road version
Not for the indecisive
Manageable success
One of 200
Further information

Estimated reading time: 8min

Preview (beginning of the article)

In the mid-1980s, Group B attracted a lot of attention and technical excesses in rally sport. A promising conceptual formula had been established with the Peugeot 205 T16; without four-wheel drive and turbo engines, there were no more flower pots to be won in the rallies. The British had won major rally victories with the Ford Escort and previously with the Mini in the sixties and seventies, so it was only a matter of time before British Leyland made a comeback. As early as February 1984, "British Leyland" showed invited journalists a preliminary version of the later MG Metro 6R4. Conceptually, this variant already largely corresponded to the later homologation variant, but visually and technically there were still significant differences. However, the name had already been decided: 6R4. The "6" stood for the number of cylinders, the "R" for the planned Group B rally use and the "4" for the all-wheel drive.

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