The forgotten other Mini
06/15/2017
Of course we remember the Mini that won the Monte Carlo Rally in the sixties and was built until the year 2000. And we are certainly also familiar with the new Mini, which continues the legacy as part of the BMW Group.
But in between, there was another Mini that was supposed to take over the legacy of the original Mini and yet has almost been forgotten: the Austin (Mini) Metro.
It was actually launched in 1980 to replace the ageing original Mini. And it did everything better. It had more space, offered more comfort, had a practical tailgate with a split-folding rear bench seat and was a much more mature car overall, offering generous space at just 3.4 meters long and 1.55 meters wide. Even Lady Di drove a Metro! And she drove it well, because the Metro had exemplary aerodynamics with a drag coefficient of 0.41.
Perhaps the reason why many people have long forgotten it is because of the various names it went by during its career: Austin Metro, MG Metro, Rover Metro, Rover 100. The fact that even the original Mini survived the Metro is also surprising, but 1998 was the end. After all, just over two million units had been produced, not bad.
The most substantial version was the MG Metro 6R4 , to which we have just dedicated an extensive article. But all it had in common with the Austin Metro was the name and a few small parts.
The Rover Group video, which goes into the development of the small car and shows legendary commercials from two countries as opening credits, is certainly interesting ...
