The Smelly, Noisy, Mind-Blowing MG Metro 6R4 -- /DRIVEN

It's smelly, noisy and hard to control, but the all-wheel-drive, mid-engined MG Metro 6R4 MG Metro 6R4 is one of the most important vintage race cars in motorsports history. It was a cornerstone of Group B rally, and even donated an engine to the Jaguar XJ220.
What's it like to own one?

[@-DC-]

even as a kid I thought the 6r4 was insane, bonkers machine but such character. what a bloody beautiful sound !

[@Scua262]

Childhood memories of watching the mighty 6R4 blasting through the Clipstone forest stages of the Lombard RAC. By far the best era for Rallying 70's & 80's .. RIP group B

[@posniknelb6114]

Hi,Do you know of any footage of group b in clipstone forest?

[@jackom11]

Thanks for a great bit of film and a huge thank you to the owner for looking after the car and letting others see an important part of motor racing history.

[@Ecosse57]

well put.

[@boothegoopc8417]

I'll second that.

[@NH00531]

I'll third that.

[@kneeenaw4]

I’ll fourth that

[@trefod]

It never came into its own in Group B, but in RallyCross... Holy ghost the 6R4's were spectacular.

[@6R4NET]

trefod the 6R4 did win 5 national rally championships in 1986, it just didn't deliver the goods at World Championship level

[@julianv.5848]

I THINK HAVING A GROUP B RALLY CAR FOR A '''RALLYCROSS''' COMP, IS CHEATING AND UNFAIR FOR THE OPPOSITION.......

[@AJ_Irving]

Not really that’s were most group b cars ended up and with more power the metros got turbos bolted on etc and it shaped rallycross top level to what we now know 600bhp 4wd cars.. you have to remember group b cars had power but were mechanical and not that quick in corners and quite agricultural there was a lot of one off cars that matched them.

[@slonky821]

@@julianv.5848 95% of the grid would have been modified ex group b cars as they had no use in rally anymore

[@lizardywizard]

gollop stuck turbos on this I think?

[@nevar108]

World needs more curators like this guy!

[@ianwall3523]

I never missed an episode of rallycross on grandstand, if this is will gallops 6r4 then where the hell is his 600+ hp twin turbo v6 that he ran, now that's an engine. the owner is a very lucky man .😎

[@britCpower]

His battles with Martin Schanke were legendary back then. I think the peak was the 1987 season and still one of my favorite VHS tapes

[@willb8099]

The only time I'd want to take the Metro!

[@cheyennedogsoldiers]

Loved Group B, lost interest in Rallying afterwards, but I do understand. It became crazy out there. But total blast from the past, including the Piper Cam's.

[@TheAdaaamski]

In a way i'm glad Group B ended. It makes these 80s works of boxy art a little bit more special. Modern cars just don't have the same looks and drama of rally cars from the 70s-90s.

[@dannyroz]

Great concept for Driven. Would love to see more videos like this.

[@jameslovestokyo]

Maybe 'borrowing' (ahem) the formula of Petrolicious? :D

[@dannyroz]

cough...cough...

[@DannyMcmonagle94]

What a car! What an owner!

[@EVILSPAWN1003]

It deserves to sit on tarmac wheels though. All Group B cars deserve to sit on their big fat tarmac wheels and really fill up those wheelarches

[@17473039]

John on the road, especially in a 4wd car, its nice to deliberately limit the grip so it slides about. stops you cornering on the wrong side of too fast too

[@EVILSPAWN1003]

To me the last iteration of the Quattro,the S1 E2 was the "scariest" LOOKING of the group B cars. It looked like it wanted to eat you. And your friends. And by far the best sounding! The best looking if you can call it that was the S1 running in the 84 season, without the CRAZY flared arches. The S4 was fierce looking but focused. The Quattro was grunt piled on top of even more grunt. If the Quattro S1 E2 was Mike Tyson the S4 was Muhammed Ali....

[@EVILSPAWN1003]

They say they actually had (and still do probably) more grip on those than they did with any other wheels. 400 metal studs 20 mm in length will do that i suppose....

[@alzo965]

When this car first appeared on the National rally championship I was part of the service team great fun to drive,brings back many memories

[@thor-eivindrnningen9406]

Great car! I like that you painted it in Gollops old livery. That is definitely the best looking 6r4. It did very well in rallycross as well.

[@user-ey3qk4vo7r]

Stunning and always my favourite group B car Loved watching Will Gollop doing rallycross You’ve done a magnificent job restoring that and I am very envious

[@Mike-1000]

Rallycross cars were awesome, that Martin Schanche was a great character and driver too.

[@user-ey3qk4vo7r]

Stroppy sod though wasn’t he?! 😂

[@Mike-1000]

@@user-ey3qk4vo7r Haha, yeah. One could say he was prone to the odd mood swing !!!

[@antonbless]

Seen this in North Yorkshire on the road, Still looks meaner then the 80s.

[@beanyboom18]

Crazy machine with an amazing history! Good job on bringing it back to it's original state.

[@shaneslad]

My old metro as a kid wasn't quite like that!... 1.3 Vitesse, though I 'thought' I drove like I was in Group B ;)

[@atopeconlatxabaleria]

Awesome stuff, thanks for keeping the brute alive. I remember a story about a Group B driver. He said that he had a rough stage, the crowd was mental on the road, but he had manage to wrestle the car to the end of stage. Only then he realized that he had caught someone's finger in the door mirror, ripped it off clean and driven with it stuck in the car until the end of the stage. Properly mental stuff.

[@michaeledwards427]

The team mechanics used to find them regularly apparently when doing the greek/Spanish/Portuguese rallies in particular. It's the idiotic "gotta prove I'm a man by standing in front of/touching a fast moving rally car". It's pathetic thinking like this that got group B in trouble

[@maxxjettfilms6322]

group b rally cars are awesome, I'd like to drive one someday.

[@cunawarit]

I like his attitude, he's preserving a little bit of automotive history. As long as people come to the museum the museum stays open.

[@ryano8768]

It's just a shame cars like this seem so under appreciated by the youth of today purely because it's not German or it doesn't have the latest reg.

[@Dragoneer]

S****ing Peugeot Not at all! This is among my favorite rally cars of all time, behind the Peugeot 205 T16, group A Ford Escort Cosworth and the Peugeot 306 F2 kit car

[@Dragoneer]

I say older cars definitely have more character than the same boring designs repeated across brands from automotive monopolies like the VW group and PSA

[@wheely5645]

Well I'm 18 and they're my favourite. I'm gonna build one one day

[@mavrickmiller2755]

Fear not, several people my age (21) still adore these cars. They were before our time, but I think that makes us appreciate them more.

[@djxjxixsmjxjskjzxn1853]

Ryan, how many "youth of today" have you canvassed for their opinion? My lad is in awe of 1970s Porches and anything rally associated.

[@PaulDoldenDetails]

This is probably the best video about the incredible Metro 6R4 I'm 46 and this was a huge part of my car love ❤️ that noise is just insane

[@lukekindred1999]

Bloody awesome. I would've loved to have been alive in the 80s to witness Group B. only ever seen one 6R4 and God was It special

[@chrisdodson8118]

Group B rallying was absolutely nuts...a motorsport genre that pretty much literally drove itself off a cliff - the power, the speed and the deaths all eventually became too much. There were more successful cars than the Metro 6R4, but I would argue that it was the most enigmatic of all. Imagine a Dinky Toy that ran on crystal meth and you pretty much have it. Fearsome power and handling with a banshee scream of a sound to match. We will not see its like again. Metro 6R4, I salute you.

[@originunknown3209]

Emotional! Simple as that! A stunning machine, and 0-60mph in around 2 seconds if my memory serves me! 👏👏👏👏👏

[@marcusbennett9381]

If I recall, Will Gollop did some 0-60 runs with the car geared for pure acceleration. 0-60 was met in around 2 seconds, with 3 gear changes!

[@benbirch2393]

I timed pat dorans rs200 at 2.something to 60 and 5.something to 100

[@15DEAN1995]

the metro 6r4 is my favorite group b car the engine noise is absolutely epic and it looks insane :D the first time i ever heard of it was in rallycross events in colin mccrae dirt 2 :) was my favorite car in that game it was soo much fun

DEANOGTO One of my two favourite Group B machines, the other being the Quattro! Two of the most recognisable sounding and epic sounding cars ever!

[@justray3518]

Loved these cars and the old RS's great video 👍🏻brings back good memories

[@stockprerunner5277]

not my favorite looking group b car, but it's a group b car so i love it. and this has got to be one of the best sounding v6 engines ever produced

[@fasdiablo]

With all its history and being one of the original 6, I'm glad you restored it to the time when it was Will Gollops car. That for me is a very 6R4 !

[@karthikchilukuri4228]

Absolutely magnificent car and engine note! Much respect for the man for looking after it.

[@liverush24]

I prefer it with the front spoiler fitted.

[@TheOriginalChazno5]

Awesome car! The MG Metro 6R4 is one of the rallying greats! Well done for keeping this very rare and excellent example on the road 👏

[@tonybilco1317]

I actually bought a metro as first car when passed my driving test as loved the 6r4 absolutely fascinated me as a child watching it performing in rally..amazing machine ahead of it's time beautiful restoration please keep this beautiful machine..

[@alexanderwoolmer7422]

Nice to see a classic still running as it should be

[@tomtom4633]

Great video and awesome car, I have had the pleasure of driving one when I was 18 and I needed to check myself afterwards and catch my breath as my heart was racing

[@colderwar]

What an engine noise.....sends shivers up your spine.....

[@tomgrantham2469]

Can remember WIll Gollop at Brands in this metro but with turbos. It was tested by Cars and Carconversions mag around 1992 it had around 600 hp and was geared for 110 mph in rally cross spec ! In the same magazine report it was quicker 0 - 110 mph than the Williams F1 car ! Wish I owned it .

[@DanThornton1]

Think I still have that mag somewhere, along with loads of old pics from rallycross in the 80's...

[@lizardywizard]

It was of course Williams who developed the V6 na motor based on previous rover V.8. Motor got turbocharged and in the Jaguar xk220 it powered what was for a time the fastest production car. Gollop with twin turbos is in my top 6 car / drivers across motorsports. First is was and will always be was Rocket 🚀Ron Beecroft operating in motoring news championship road rally Championship in 80s. Group 4 escorts fully blown builds - bd series engines etc. >> group b levels of freedm to develop competitive machines.

[@justinadams5866]

Awesome keep up the good work 👍love group B cars best era in rally

[@grahamlink6726]

Super great car and I love the colour scheme, fabulous. Awesome sound too! Great video.

[@Sagaris72]

V6 N/A noise !!😍

[@kundanpradhan5649]

now this is the kinda stuff u want from a automotive channel. loved it.

[@davidbarnsley8486]

The rally cars from the early 80s were just unbelievable and fancy being the lucky b that owns one and can experience That every day I also remember watching the rally’s and seeing people on the track and separating for the cars to pass It really was so dangerous but that’s what happened back in the day 👍👍

[@mattslater4605]

Nice film. I saw the Lombard RAC in Grizedale forest. Loved the Class B cars. You could tell when the Metros were coming from miles away, a very distinctive racket.

[@ianhill20101]

watched this about 10 times now with the surround sound blasting sorry neighbours but i love it, When he says it's noisy pause smelly I'm with him all the way I feel what he is putting across this big lumpy engine throbbing through your spine egging your right foot on. This cars history is truly amazing, I had Peter Lloyd rally by my school so I would hear it popping on dinner break, just good times.

[@losslessification]

Top vid guys, good to see it being driven properly on the road!

[@Wishful-Thinking]

Great little film on an enthusiastic owners 6R4. Great that these owners are keeping these cars alive for the pleasure of people like me who adored them in our youth and not being pretentious about people approaching them to talk about them. Ironic that Group B was banned for being too fast when todays current generation of rally cars are actually faster. You can’t stop technological progress. 🙂

[@Zerofightervi]

14 layers of paint! I'm sure the performance improved drastically once it was back to how it should have been. The noise of that V6 is what made me really fall in love with these cars, Rally Day at Castle Coombe is a must if you've never seen one in action.

[@chrisbutlersmith9970]

Great job that man , that sound is out of this world. My life's ambition is to drive one and scare the life out of me . I love your enthusiasm towards a true classic rally car and your willingness to share it with the general public . Take care and keep up the good work .

[@GaryThomo]

What a great film, thank you for that

[@kmi187]

Proper job restoring a classic. Well done.

[@boombox469]

Cracking film. What a car! Thank you ;)

[@CampervanAdventures]

Top man,legend of a car you got there......thanks for sharing the video good to see and here it once more👍

[@ianhill20101]

legendary car, started with the 6r4 scalextrics as a kid and loved them ever since, bought a metro gti as my first car loved that so much i got a Gta vvc then built a 1.8 turbo that worked well but all went wrong fast and the engine was fryed. Great video on the edge of my seat she pops a good en at the start what a beast, two become one.

[@only1brum]

Those exhaust pops 😱

[@fuzzy1237]

Watched these cars back in the day for rallycross. Scary beasts

[@mentalkuk-ryantommothompson]

Love this 🙌🏻🙌🏻 good work, keep it alive

[@YootubeUK]

V6 DOHC's, sounds great and refinished to a great standard! My mate still remembers the shells awaiting dispatch to be assembled outside the Rover plant down the road from me.

[@martinbrunning4532]

Awesome car and thankfully a very humble and brilliant owner 👍🏻

[@mypinis]

As much as I like blue and white, you did that car justice.

[@wraith01mg]

stunning bit of motorama. one of my favorite race cars.

[@jasward3826]

the return of the wild one, everybody went nuts for these 6R4s

[@alfredthethird5202]

I've always loved the 6r4 the noise, speed and look of these cars still makes me want one

[@JG_Fit]

what a fantastic car! must be incredible to drive. great video

[@alistairthompson2750]

That just looks and sounds amazing

[@reggietito3261]

amazing episode, i learned a ton

[@mrapache49]

Brilliant car . One of my all time favourites..

[@Anolbea]

Really enjoyed this video. Remember back in the day seeing one race a Ford rs200 round the Mickleham bends... Proper mental cars.

[@robmuzz]

I love the name "Will Gollop."

[@69bock69]

Hats off this is amazing

[@RoadRunnerMeep]

I've stood next to one of these cars at a rally event marshalling, out of all the cars this one hurts the ears a lot. When you hear those engines revving. Damn

[@braindrain8922]

Superb , thankyou for sharing

[@philtucker1224]

Very nicely presented episode about a ridiculously fabulous and successful car in its day. Well done sir! 👍

[@68dosh]

I'm so glad you found her I used to travel the country watching this car perform driven by will gollop come rain or shine we was there, we often have conversations to where she was now, was she destroyed or locked away somewhere, thank you for bringing her back to life I can now stop wondering where she is.

[@orlandobarron6557]

Fantastic rebuild - loved the paint tree ring analogy, probably a superligerra 6R4 now! - I seem to recall the SWB quattro at the end of group B chucked out a lot more than 500bhp

[@winchuni22]

Seriously seriously cool video!

[@steve24822]

I used to go to Lyden to watch Will Gollop beat everyone. And this is the car! Great stuff...

[@23hublock1]

Man that sounds wicked!

[@linternsofia6208]

Hi I watched this car with Will Gollop at Brands Hatch many times. The 700+ hp of the 2.3L twin turbo was simply the most awesome sound and blows the Audi clean away.

[@johnodonnell2093]

I remember being taken out as a 10 year old in one of these after the Mk2 Escort I had originally been a passenger in had broken down halfway round the course, still sticks as one of the biggest thrills ever.

[@joshbacon8241]

Bet that must be an amazing memory from your childhood, being driven in a 6R4...

[@e575fho]

A beast of a car, the only Metro worth having! What a stunning noise :)

[@samjep2]

What a great video!

[@andy00grant]

awesome cars and awesome video 👏

[@leoedward7363]

Dream car. This and an original GT40. Thanks for the video, I need to work harder and buy one!

[@XPLOSIVization]

Fantastic little beast

[@andybtcc]

Seen these go at chatsworth house around 2008.is part of this film in glossop near where the road narrows over the bridge. Fantastic video

[@77jazzbass]

Keep it, such fantastic memories of will gollop pushing that car all the way,,, hats off to you sir

[@hinks0757]

Great Film Great Car

[@barryotoole6990]

The Car is truly truly a credit to you. Hopefully when this Covid is over and you have it out at a car show i would love to see and chat about the car. It looks and sounds amazing, i loved watching Will Gollop rallycross his he did sometimes have rear punture problems. He also had a bi-turbo 6R4 too. The car is lovely keep it if you sell it you may regret it...

[@manfromnantucket9544]

"Faster Neddy, he's gaining!" "I CAN'T GO FASTER IT'S A METRO!"

[@bigc1066]

I was part of the wrecker crew at Lyden hill and branshatch when Mr Gollop would do his hardest to make that car fly!! I am so happy you chose his paint job, that time was it's panicle. With will he ether won or stuffed it and he did a lot of both.

[@SuperTonyRS]

Good honest vid of an awesome car. And even better a well known car. Credit to you mate and defo keep it.

[@shintsu01]

great vid guys

[@corridasloucas]

Good job and great attitude, let people enjoy the car, that's what is all about.

[@joshmw2730]

I can remember first seeing the 6r4 back as a very young child and instantly loving it, and thinking some day I will have to get myself one of them, of course along with several other cars like the 205 T16 and the delta S4 but the 6r4 was really what just had a bit of an edge for me, back then being so young money wasn't really much of a thought to me Hahahah 😂. It's still something else every time I see one the noise, smell and display is just incredible. Unfortunately I'm too young to have experienced group B in its day, which is something I really really wish I could have done. Being only 17 however I don't think I will be owning one any time soon but for me it would be a dream come true to have one and sure is a goal in life and something at the top of a forever growing list of cars and bikes I aspire to own one day (mainly full of rally cars) 😂. But what a stunning example you have in the video, keep it up and hopefully I will meet you and your 6r4 one day. Josh

[@955isteve]

Wow that does sound great that's what keeps people wonting to see it the sound and the smell of them 👍

[@martinparker9249]

IMHO one can NEVER beat those Audi's in thier day if only for that Ghostly Howl ....but a great sentiment/philosophy here......"if the people wanna see n hear it......I'LL KEEP IT" !!

[@playerskilz]

A rallye car from the time when safety was just a word, what an awesome car! Going fast without any compromise!

[@TheChristenoph]

Will Gollop - All time legend of rallycross!

[@jujuledruide6385]

thanks a lot , nice report ... ♥ 6r4

[@harrymoses5471]

Loved this! More of the same please!