MG Metro 6R4: Metrosexual - Sports Cars
The dashboard speedometer reads 2.467 miles or 3.970 km. He seems frozen and suspended in time. The wheels have made very little progress since this car left the factory. Austin Rover back in 1986. He didn't even change timing belt (Which is alarming enough, as it was the belt that deceived many of his sisters when they were thrown at full power into the forest, where you can't tell the spectators from the tree trunks.) In a few minutes, these numbers will start rolling again. Because I will make my dream come true: I will drive one Metro 6R4.
It's not just 6R4. This is probably the most original 6R4 in the world. It was built from 200 road samples in accordance with homologation standards Group Balong with 20 other rally cars on full alert to (try to) take on the fiery Lancia, Peugeot and Audi on the dirt road. Most of these 200 road cars were then converted into rally or rallycross versions to compete in various amateur championships. There are rumors among Austin Rover employees - but they may also be unfounded - that not all units are even built. Apparently, when the FIA came to the Austin Rover plant to inspect a batch of 200 cars, the cars would have lined up in a barn in Longbridge and, after inspection, hastily moved to the end of the line. nameplate replacement.
According to a small plaque placed on this Metro 6R4, it is number 179. It belongs to Malcolm Leggate, former pilot and father of former BTCC pilot Fiona Leggate. He has owned this car since 2000, when he bought it for the equivalent of 27.000 euros (about 30.000 euros less than a new one, although the price was negotiable at the time) and has only driven 800 km since then. He hadn't driven her in months. I usually think that neglecting such a car is sacrilege, but this car has so few kilometers behind it, and it is such a piece of history that it becomes almost understandable.
When we went to his house this morning, Malcolm showed us all the documentation for the car over a steaming cup of coffee (he even changed his license plate from A6 RAU, which because A looks like 4, we read a bit like A 6R4 U - the original, which you see in these photos) before taking us to see it, a few kilometers away. Even hidden under a tarp, he looks amazing with thisaileron the back that rises from under the sheet like a sail creates a whimsical silhouette.
Seeing it slowly emerge from under the sheet was as exciting as the unveiling of the new supercar at this Auto Show. That spoiler the orange front, then the white front of the fenders, inch by inch, until the entire car was naked in front of us. The 6R4 looks just as wide, long and tall, even if it's not a cube. According to photographer Dean Smith, it's terrible. I don’t agree. Our director Sam Riley is more inventive and says it reminds him of the Transformer. But we all agree on one thing: we've never seen a car more brutal, aggressive and designed to get straight to the point.
We push it out of the garage, trying not to reach with our hands only to the metal panels, and not to fiberglass... This is incredibly heavy for a car that barely reaches 1.000 kg, but it depends on the wide tires it currently fits on. Malcolm leaves for a previous engagement and leaves us alone to photograph the details, advising us not to turn it on.
I open the hood and stunned: nothing engine... There is practically nothing here, except for a couple of propeller shafts and a large one. differential. Behind the prominent front wheel arches, you can barely see the door - almost the only remaining part of the standard Metro - behind all those enlarged air intakes. Moving on to the rear, you can't help but wonder how high that aileron is, and a bit further down it almost feels like there's a spoiler missing right below the license plate where the subframe is visible, as if the car had stepped out. with a skirt tucked into panties. Finally inside you can see barbell a cage that reaches the front struts.
Pulling up the tailgate reveals a 6-liter V3, which is basically the same engine as the Jaguar. XJ220, only this aspirated... End with Speed facing forward towards the center of the machine connected to the tree going to viscous center differential (manufactured by Ferguson Fabrications, the company behind the only four-wheel drive F1). The engine is slightly offset to the left, with the countershaft on the right side of the rear differential housing, so the two rear propeller shafts are the same length. Many 6R4s have a tuned engine, but this is completely original, including the air filter.
In various tests, Austin Rover used a Rover V8, which had two cylinders removed, but the final V6 with double overhead camshaft per row was designed by David Wood (formerly Cosworth) and is considered the first engine specifically designed for a rally car. It was the only naturally aspirated engine in the world of forced-admission engines at the time, but the basic idea was that striving to provide wider and more comfortable supply and torque, and that the engine would not suffer from overheating problems. turbo then. Unfortunately, these projects and evaluations were made back in 1981, when British Leyland Motorsport partnered with Patrick Head at Williams GP Engineering. By 1985, when the 6R4 first hit the international stage, the cooling and lag issues of its turbocharged competitors were largely resolved, and the power they produced was far greater than any flexibility advantage the 6R4 could have. But that's another story.
Looking at all the details, one cannot help but admire this machine. Which, however, is not ideal. One of the front lights is poorly secured, and despite being four meters of solder (compared to 120cm in the standard Metro), it is a little loose. As if the mechanics were in a hurry to finish ...
Malcolm returns in a couple of hours, and when Dean is done with the static photos, we are ready to go outside. Surprisingly, the subway lights up from the first shot. But then it turns off and on again. After a minute of pressing the accelerator pedal, the engine stabilizes just enough to never stop, with an arrhythmic rise and fall in revs. A few minutes later, a frenzied idle where the engine is quieted down indicates that it has reached temperature and that everything is working as it should in the V64V engine (the name means V6 with 4 valves per cylinder).
Malcolm gets behind the wheel to take photos, and then it's my turn. Fortunately, there is no rain (Malcolm didn’t allow us to ride the subway on a wet one), but a cold wind blows, sweeping the swamps and threatening to rip the door out of my hands and throw it to the ground when I lift my foot. walk through the wide windowsill and onto 6R4. The seat is narrow and tilted towards the center of the vehicle and steering wheel the gray leather - which looks a bit out of place on a car like this - is a little too bulging, but overall the driving position is acceptable.
The seat is comfortable enough, even if it's an old classic. Seat a shell that holds you tight like the loops of a boa constrictor. The sports cab is full of minor inconsistencies, such as the standard Metro small gear knob, which has been glued with a new pattern from the first down. There are also a number of fuses next to the cigarette lighter and the dials are so subcompact, except the tachometer shows 10.000 XNUMX.
Looking at the windshield, the eye is drawn to the two bonnet protrusions; instead, looking into the mirrors, eyes are fixed on the huge side air intakes. It feels like you're sitting in a car from a manga comic book. Once the main switch is on, rotate half a turn with the normal Austin Rover key, pressaccelerator once and you're done turning the key to start the engine behind your back. There Clutch it has a short move and it takes a certain amount of strength to knock it down. First slide the lever to the left and back, then lift the clutch pedal, which has an incredibly high attachment point, and forward. I drive 6R4.
Cars like the Mégane R26.R and Mini GP are pretty extreme to drive on the road. Many are surprised by their stable ride, and in the case of Renault, the lack of comfort. But they are both soft compared to this 6R4. Comparing these two cars to the subway is like being at a party and telling a guy that you ran 2km yesterday (actually 1,7, but the GPS definitely doesn't work), only to find out that he only that won once again. championships. There is so much noise in the subway cab that it is almost impossible to chat with a passenger in motion. IN consumption an average of 2 km / l (exactly: 2, not mistaken). If you ride it in the summer, then all this will take you ten minutes. On the other hand, the 6R4 is a car built purely for racing, not for going to the beach with your girlfriend. It takes me thirty seconds behind the wheel to fall in love with her.
While turbocharged cars had a performance advantage, Metro won people's hearts with the sound of its V6. Try watching a video of the time when cars are out of frame: without the spectacle to deceive you, you can focus on the sound and you will realize that while other cars mutter and mutter and whistle, the subway makes your spine tremble. At low revs, however, that musicality fades into a cacophony of noisy diffs and an all-too-tractor-like engine. As with many racing cars, the noise amplification from simply touching the accelerator pedal is the best way to turn off the car, because when you hear the V6 rise in this way, you instinctively take your foot off the gas pedal. Luckily this has happened to me in the past and I have learned my lesson so I can dose gas without shutting off the engine.
I wish I could tell you at how many revs the engine sound changes from tractor to racing car. Around 4.000, I think, but I'm so focused on avoiding one of those deep ditches on the side of the road that I can't take my eyes off the tachometer. But I can tell you one thing: when the V64V reaches its ideal speed, its sound becomes absolutely amazing, and the thin layer of Perspex separating me from the engine becomes almost useless. A great way to go deaf ...
In the standard version, the engine has 250 hp, but with elaborate cams and an exhaust manifold with a throttle valve, it rises above 10.000 400 rpm and develops over 305 hp. The torque, on the other hand, is 6 Nm. Ironically, despite being a rally car, it has less torque than the fully tuned road version. Even though the Metro 4RXNUMX blazes with lightning speed with these short rally gears soaring you towards the horizon, you understand that the engine has more to offer: there is an almost artificial threshold that cuts when you think it can climb even higher.
This small street, like many others in the area, is single lane, but nothing obstructs the view, so it's easy to pick up the pace. Despite the few kilometers under his belt and Malcolm's limited use of the Metro, the owner doesn't mind us driving it properly, on the contrary, he encourages me to make full use of every lap in every gear. Compared to the difficulty of inserting the rear, the transition from the first to the second and the third is excellent, the travel of the thin lever is short and engages, the fourth is a little more difficult to insert instead.
When I pick up the pace and start to take turns faster, I brakes become decisive. The first time I fully rely on them, I have a heart attack. They are powerful yet very cold, they don't have the slightest help, and the center pedal requires insane force to handle the 90 left, don't cut properly. Despite all those ailerons and square wheel arches, the Metro 6R4 is still a small car (as Austin Rover sports head John Davenport once said, “A small car makes a small track bigger”). As you race through the bends, you feel a short and almost square track on the ground with four wheels that seem to move as one; Metro is incredibly responsive, but that also means it's a snap to rotate.
Disintegration couple is 35/65 in favor of the rear, and while I would love to do everything, even the craziest things with it, with this short wheelbase, the 6R4 comes out of the curves, going a little to the tail, and most of the load is on the rear wheels, so better not to overdo it. Pushing from the front wheels spoils steering response and the car tends to fidget as you change incline, forcing you to focus entirely on driving.
It has been nearly thirty years since the first 6R4 prototype was driven by pilot Tony Pond (who later placed the 1985R6 on the third place on the RAC 4-year podium) on the Oxfordshire runway. In a brochure advertising the new Metro, he quoted him: “Driving is easy and very fast, even when it is not at its peak. With her, you don't need a rally ace to win. " In fact, Pond knew how to drive a car. I can hardly imagine the effort it would take to get the 6R4 out onto the tarmac rally. If I still have the ability to drive the Metro, I'd like to try it out in the mud, where the controls might be lighter and the differentials would work more normally. I also think that it would be easier for her: I always imagine her sideways and with stones bouncing off the floor.
However, as a child, I am happy that I was able to drive it. To be able to be behind the wheel of this crazy looking and sounding car that rushes towards the horizon. To take a leap into the past, in 1986. See the odometer numbers change again.
