We might as well continue this week’s theme of doubled up Hemmings Finds of the Day with two MG Metro Group B rally cars recently added to the classifieds at Hemmings.com. The Auto Collections from Las Vegas is selling both – a 1985 and a 1988 – and though the descriptions of both include some background on the entry of the MG Metro into Group B rallying, along with what was done to make them competitive, neither ad includes specific information on the cars themselves. From the descriptions:
In the early 1980s an attempt was made to revitalize the old competitions department and through the efforts of this a saloon car racing challenge based on the Metro model was set up. This became a successful series which still runs to date in a number of guises: Standard, MG, and Turbo Metro series. Arising from this original outset into motor sport came an attempt to establish the Metro as a rally car. The Metro developed for this kind of competition was code named the 6R4, and was a mid-engined four-wheel-drive saloon, which bore a resemblance to the Metro although it was actually built on a Maestro floorpan! The engine was a V-6 unit which had been derived from the Rover V-8 engine which has been seen in numerous vehicles including the MGB. The engine had effectively had two cylinders removed, was fuel injected, and had been mounted in what would have been the back seats of the Metro model. This whole package was offered in limited production, for homologation purposes, at a price of around 25,000 pounds. As a competition car, the MG Metro was only a mild success, winning only one major rally, before it was ruled out of contention by changes in rallying’s international rules just as the development was beginning to get the car into success.
The 6R4 Project was first announced in Febuary 1984. Built under contract by Williams Grand Prix Engineering. It started out as 2WD , later permanent 4WD was developed It was Mid Engined 250bhp-12v- 3 litre-V6 (Modfied 3.5 litre Rover V8, as fitted in the MGB GT V8) Later Specifications of the engine increased the power to 400bhp Unlike other Group B cars, it was not Turbocharged, but Fuel Injected
See more MGs for sale on Hemmings.com.