For Sale: 1985 MG Metro 6R4 Group B Rally Car
Images via Bonhams
While the thought of owning a standard MG/Austin Metro is not a particularly thrilling one, this 1985 MG Metro 6R4 Group B is something entirely different and we’d happily take it home. It’s heading to auction at Bonhams’ Goodwood Revival sale.
The car was born in the white-hot fires of Group B, the easygoing rules of which mean that it bears little resemblance to the road-going Metro on which it was based.
In fact, it’s mostly motor, with the twin-plenum three-litre International Specification engine filling most of the space behind the seats. Its chassis, designed by legendary Williams designer Patrick Head, is also a far cry from the stock car and, with the host of aerodynamic additions that give it its distinctive Group B aesthetic, ensures that it won’t handle like one either.
While this machine was not raced WRC Group B events, it did build a successful period career in hill climbs. Driven by Simon Taylor and David Power, and prepared by Power Engineering, the car ran at events like Shelsley Walsh, Prescott and Gurston.
After a run in a Prescott hill climb in 1987, it was upgraded with a set of very desirable inner front wings to aid in front-end grip. These honeycomb aluminium additions had originally been fitted to cars driven by Tony Pond and Malcolm Wilson in the 1986 San Remo Rally.
The car was sold to John Potter in Australia in 1997. He treated it to the previously mentioned twin-plenum three-litre International Specification engine from Nelson Engineering Services, and went on to win his class in the 1998 Targa Tasmania. Garry Cliff would then buy it and take it across the Tasman to New Zealand, before it eventually returned to the United Kingdom in 2012.
This competitive and spectacular machine is in great condition and would prove a very exciting entry into historic events around the world. It will head to auction on the 10th of September, 2016, at Bonhams’ Goodwood Revival sale. For more information, see their website here.
Images via Bonhams
