The untold story of the Metro 6R4 - classic car review - Paul Woodford

Motoring Presenter Paul Woodford gets to grips with the '80s Group B rally Metro 6R4 and uncovers the real story of how the car was designed...yes, really! (Well, almost really)
This video was produced from start to finish on a single iPhone.
See the KZbin channel and follow @paulwoodford84 for more motoring review vids.
Well, Clarkson has to retire one day, right?

[@Sirdiggar]

I admire the 6R4 simply for the fact that it's outrageous. It's tiny, weights fuck all, a V6 strapped to your back and that it didn't use forced induction like everyone else was doing at the time. Well done Rover.

[@marcogiulivi7595]

not really well done...it didn`t go with the crowd alright, but won nothing on the stages it was meant to win....had to be recycled into rallycross to get some attention. That being said, kudos to MG to have the guts to go their own way into group B, the only manufacturer to do so...

[@Sirdiggar]

I meant well done in the sense of what I mentioned in my opening statement.

[@alanjohnstone4369]

Ma dad worked with a guy who did rally one in events in scotland, a got a chance to up close and personal with the the car what a machine 0-60 under 5 seconds,

[@Sirdiggar]

I forgot all about this post 4 years how time flies 😆

[@MattGreenWorks]

love em , thats why i am making one for myself

[@timlarge7420]

Whilst I saw many 6R4s in their time, piloted by Tony or Jimmy, one of my memories was of seeing a road registered street version in central London with surf borads strapped to the roof, You keep your T5s. Kool or what!

[@edh7492]

Agreed, and the drive to the coast would be a rapid one to say the least.

[@georgejacob3162]

I saw one which was less cool. It was just a normal Metro with a 6R4 bodykit bolted onto the normal car's wings! The poor guy obviously thought he looked cool in a grey car with wheels 2 feet inside the wheel-arches!

[@jamesarmitage8399]

Seen this car in person & spoke to the owner many times. Also heard it when just idling...could hardly hear yourself think!!

[@mrdainase]

MG Metro had 72bhp not 63. The cooking 1.3 Metros had 60bhp. The Turbo had 93bhp. Yep, sad anorak observation eh?

[@samjaggard5139]

I do think that the mg had 63

[@mrdainase]

No, it had 72bhp. Go look at this page from the 1982 ARG brochure. i.imgur.com/9GOSl9Q.jpg

[@samjaggard5139]

+mrdainase don't want to be arguing with u but on metro power it says that it's 63

[@mrdainase]

Did you see the page from the model brochure? And who or what is 'Metro Power' ?

[@samjaggard5139]

+mrdainase it's a website dedicated to metros go and have a look

[@kevinevans2589]

I went to the public launch with Tony pond driving the sound was amazing and about ten years ago every Sunday by where I play football you could see a 6r4 shooting up the lanes amazing to see it hasn't lost its magic over all these years

[@gtisid]

i need a 6r4 in my life!

[@Mind-your-own-beeswax]

Will Gollops biturbo 6R4 was a weapon. I just love these cars and the sound of the V6 snarling away

[@Markycarandbikestuff]

The Silolene car, i remember that well, rallycross on a Saturday afternoon on World of Sport, it was so powerful (about 750bhp i think ?) it was always ripping the tyres off the rims, think he got special rims to screw the tyre beads to them.

[@moonkef]

MG Metro engine and brakes transplanted to a Mini 1000 was a good little mod back in the day!

[@JamesPropmaker]

Steve James I've done it on a 67 mini

[@moonkef]

Cool, I think there is a vented disc set up that allows you to retain 10" wheels, mini spares maybe? Either way great stuff! Iirc I used to run a 1293 with 286 scatter cam, longman gt15 big valve head maniflow lcb and rc40 into play mini silencer oh and 1:5:1 rockers I think !

[@JamesPropmaker]

Steve James Yeah or just get cooper's s disc brakes so you can have any size of wheels

[@moonkef]

Cool

[@grahamcuddy2215]

Still the best sounding rally car

[@AndrewClark4MarkRacing]

Still leads the pack as a fun story of the Metro 6R4-cracking!

[@leandrogriffin928]

i realize I am pretty randomly asking but do anybody know a good website to stream new tv shows online ?

[@julianbrayan2691]

@Leandro Griffin Flixportal =)

[@leandrogriffin928]

@Julian Brayan Thank you, I signed up and it seems like they got a lot of movies there :D I really appreciate it !!

[@julianbrayan2691]

@Leandro Griffin you are welcome =)

[@chrisreaney1980]

nice video

[@peterharrison2630]

i want to drive one of those more than i want to drive any other car in the world ! Think i will need my ear plugs though !

[@davarosmith1334]

I remember seeing one of those either late eighty's or early ninety's in Kelso (Scottish Borders) it was there for a rally. I thought before I saw the engine and bigger back panels , that can't be much of a rally car! I was wrong The guy revved the engine I thought bloody hell that's good! The normal MG Metro's were quite good looking cars back then to. Just think two GR6 engines powered the Jaguar XJ220!

[@TheMRmadhatt]

were the GR6 engines 3 cylinder ?

[@tonylockhart1963]

I think someone is confused here. The XJ220 was originally planned to have a V12 engine. In the end it had a turbocharged Metro 6R4 engine. Not a popular choice.

[@davidkennedy1077]

Great little vid about my favourite racing car of all time!!! I envy you of the fact you got a go haha!!!

[@rjamestaylor]

Nice video

[@oppositelocksport15]

don't worry all my drawing's looked like that too............because I was trying to draw one ;)

[@MMotorsport-MetroRMillington]

EXCELLENT

[@ITFNBiteBayKon]

A picture of one of my uncle's 6R4, nice!

[@davarosmith1334]

Great car , I saw one early 90's Kelso Scottish Border's. The guy revved the engine it was loud! It was two of those engines that powered the Jaguar XJ220!

[@kennywright8537]

The XJ220 shared the same V6 but with twin turbo's.

[@FergR]

@@kennywright8537 A similar V6. Not the same.

[@kennywright8537]

@@FergR 6:40 kzbin.info/www/bejne/mWjNqKlpiMSWo6c

[@andrewingry2986]

best 5 minutes nice to enjoy with all bad things going on iconic car iconic decade what fuel petrol head crazy humen person can not get excited about this! solute Metro you little gem!

[@46danz]

My dad had the metro mg,i stole it when he was on holiday and drove around scotland.It had really dodgy electrics and you had to thump the top off the dashboard to get the dials to work.

[@bunkaaa8726]

Good video, but if im honest its really hard to finish, the sound levels are so up and down, leaving me with my hand constantly over the volume control when there's a scene transition.

[@donalsmith]

yea, buy a mic ffs

[@spike7269]

can you still get body shells them

[@markpriestley7812]

Still see off the rest

[@Mr33223322]

Is that yer man that does the rallying programmes on motors tv

[@sunnydaygina]

Are Metro6r4's still racing in the UK?

[@CarFilms]

They certainly are, check out Autoplas 6R4 on here for a good example. 👍🏻

[@RoperMotorsportTV]

Wishing he was a tv commontator

[@TheMeirionEvans]

He is a tv commentator….

[@shigeolincolntaco]

looks like the shogun fiesta from the 90's

[@spike7269]

i had a metro gta that car went round corners like it was on rails

[@markpriestley7812]

Tell you what I bet many a petrolhead would swap what they drive ?

[@paulhunter123]

sounds like idel speed is 1400 rpm

[@Ratsinthereticles]

Nothing to do with the fact it was 3 seconds a mile quicker than the Quattro and 7 seconds quicker than the delta and Peugeot!!

[@peternufc1981]

very dodgy security could be stolen with a slither of windscreen wiper, or even just snap it and wire it ha

[@kolkripple3263]

Essex police used to have a couple tear up and down the M25,

[@georgetilbury100]

Jeremy Clarkson wannabe

[@supersky-qi7iu]

It was a unsuccesful car...never was a the same level of the other group B cars..Audi Lancia Peugeot... etc

[@stafford69]

Looks like they bolted on a few hastily designed bits of fibreglass by a 6 yr old lol

[@jerseybean59]

90 degree V6, never a good layout. The PRV V6 engine also comes to mind, maybe that's why Renault wanted to get into bed with Nissan.......

[@mrdainase]

90° config is fine for a V6. A 60° layout is arguably more ideal but it's perfectly possible to correct the inherent imbalance in a 90° unit. This layout has been used by plenty of other manufacturers - M-B, Audi, Honda, GM and I think Chrysler too. Besides, when ARG asked Cosworth to create the V64V engine they really weren't thinking about it going in a road car so 'smoothness' wasn't an issue. As for the Douvrin engine you mentioned, that was a very nice V6 that was developed a lot through the years. Remember, it was a joint project between Pug, La Regie and Volvo - and when the Swedes left the consortium it meant costs between the remaining two went up, effectively killing it sadly.

[@jerseybean59]

GM and Chrysler V6s were not bespoke engines, merely V8s with a pair of cylinders lobbed-off. Some competition V6s (notably 6R4 and Alfa 155 V6 Ti) are configured at 90 to allow space between the V for the induction system. Think I read somewhere that the PRV engine was originally to be a V8 but due to the oil crisis in the early 70s it became a V6 - not sure if this is true though.