MG Metro Turbo
On the release of the Metro, (although the
car sat well within its class and gained a
strong following), some felt that it needed
to be just a little bit quicker to compete with
its European rivals. So after just six months
of being on the market … enter the Turbo
version! The car in true MG sports tradition
was ‘hot’ and reflected the partnership MG
developed for this car with Lotus. The
‘hot hatch’ market was strong in the early
‘eighties and the MG Metro Turbo stood
shoulder to shoulder with the likes of the
VW Golf GTi and the Ford Fiesta XR2.
The fitting of exhaust-driven turbochargers to road cars was really a flow-on
from the racetrack, stemming from their
development at the time for racing. The
concept was that they could be used to
increase sports appeal of a car that was
available to the regular, but discerning
motorist. It increased output for the
minimum amount of input.
So, into the Metro went the Garrett T3
turbo and initial testing on the new car,
showed it was possible to go from release
to 60mph (96.5kph) in 9.9 seconds with
a top speed of 113 mph (181.5kph) and
effectively it could have gone faster, if it
had not been for the gearbox. The wide
ratio box, which remained the same as
that originally designed for the 850cc
Mini needed to have the torque limited,
particularly if the turbo was not achieving
The MG METRO Turbo – a little more sporty than
the standard model.
its full level of boost. In short, hindsight
showed that the engine was simply too
powerful to be mated with that particular
gearbox. The non-development of a new
gearbox apparently was due to rumoured
cost cutting by management. However, on
the positive side, the MG Metro Turbo also
had bigger 13” alloy wheels fitted, lower
profile tyres and a rear anti-roll bar. The
interior differed from its milder brother and
a full, chunkier bodykit was fitted.
As time passed, the inevitable ‘adjustments’
were to take place. In late 1987, the entire
MG Metro range was released with bodycolour bumpers and spoiler and a bodykit
for the Turbo. From 1988, the ‘cross-spoke’
alloy wheel design also became available
for the Turbo. Produced from 1983 to 1990
with the most successful 1275cc OHV A+
series engine, it developed 93 bhp at 6130
rpm and 85ftlb torque at 4000 rpm. The
Garrett T3 Turbocharger, developed 4-7
psi, and it sported a 4 speed gearbox. In
all, 21,968 Turbos were produced, but it
remained a very ‘eighties looking small
hatch.
MG Metro 6R4
First released in February 1984 and built by
Williams Grand Prix Engineering, the 6R4
(6 cylinders, rear-engine, 4-wheel drive)
was a non-turbo, mid-engine race/rally car,
which it must be said, was not exactly a
pretty car with all of its body armour, but
it certainly oozed power and performance.
Its overdone front spoiler looked somewhat
like an attached snowplow and its box-like
rear guards and upright rear spoiler gave it
a very chunky appearance. It did however,
reach 250 bhp from its 3 litre V6 fuelinjected engine, derived from that motor
placed in the MGB V8; albeit shortened to
become the V6.
In 1980, The Competitions Department of
British Leyland had, since the demise of the
MGB, fallen by the wayside and the mooted
development of a race-bred machine based
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M.G. Car Club Victoria
MG Maestro
Definitely not the prettiest MG ever made, the
Metro 6R4 had but one purpose in life – to race.
on the Metro, was exciting news in the
growing rally field. Then in 1981, after
long deliberation, this VHPD (Very High
Performance Derivative) was born, thanks
to John Davenport’s approach to Williams.
There is no doubt that the 6R4 was
Austin Rover’s full-on tilt at world rallying
success, built to Group B international rally
specifications. Other well-known marques
from this period of motorsport included:
the Audi Quattro Sport, Peugeot 205 T16,
Lancia Delta S4 and Ford RS200. Once
prepared, the Metro 6R4 took to a private
racetrack, in prototype form, for the first
time in February 1983.
Badge engineering or maybe it could be
better termed ‘badge swapping’ was a
feature of the ‘eighties fleet of Austin/
Rover/MGs. The second of the fleet of three
MGs was the Maestro, built under British
Leyland from 1983 to 1988 and then under
BL’s successor, the Rover Group until the
car’s demise in 1998. (The Austin Maestro
would continue in production for another
four years).
Continuing the concept which South
African, Sir Michael Edwardes pushed to
have light weight, mass-produced MG cars
for each segment of the market – small,
lower medium and upper medium – the
Maestro was the car to fit the mid levels of
this market concept. As distinct from the
Metro, both the Maestro and the offering
for the upper medium level, the Montego
would share the same base and platform.
Conceived as the LC10 project, the
Maestro was styled by Ian Beech under
the direction of British Leyland designer
David Bache. There were two main body
variations: firstly, a five-door hatchback and
a four-door version styled a ‘notchback’. In
departing from BL’s previous front-wheel
drive cars, the Maestro eliminated Alec
Issigonis’ transmission-in-sump powertrain
from the early Mini days. The new engine,
a development of the E-series unit now recoded the R-series, was matched to an endon transmission, which had been sourced
from Volkswagen.
However by this time, the sport had
moved to specially designed compact, fourwheel drive vehicles with larger engines.
The 6R4, to create the mid-engine version,
had the motor placed where the Metro rear
seats would have been. Yet, before the car
could establish itself in rallying competition,
the rules were altered so drastically as to
exclude the MG 6R4 from the rallying scene The standard MG Maestro – was Britain’s best
altogether. All was not lost and the car not selling car in 1984.
only materialized, but also was developed
for other sectors of motorsport including
track racing, hillclimbing and Rallycross,
where its power and aerodynamic handling
have since made it a thumping success.
The years 1986 and 1987 were significant
for the car on the world stage with 6R4s
competing to the hilt in Rallycross and
rallying championships.
JUNE 2014
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