Remembering the 6R4, three decades on

MG had always been the sporting arm of the long-running and ultimately ill-fated BMC, British Leyland and Rover Group dynasty, and 30 years ago this fire-breathing monster was its crowning glory. Who would ever have predicted that Austin’s diminutive Metro supermini could be transformed to take on the best rally machines on the planet?

That’s exactly what the mid-engined, four-wheel-drive MG Metro 6R4 did, when it joined the Group B madness that shocked and thrilled the world of motorsport for a brief but wonderful period before the entire series was outlawed in the face of death and destruction.

With a wild 400bhp-plus 3.0-litre V6 sitting amidships, the hatchback could surge to 0-60mph in an explosive 3.2 seconds, 0-100 in 8.2 seconds and cover a standing quarter in 11.5. That’s supercar fast. Dragster fast. Jet fast. And utterly insane...

Autocar magazine’s then-technical editor Graham Jones was lucky enough to go for a 6R4 passenger ride with two-time British Rally Champ David Llewellin back in 1986, and his reactions are recorded for posterity: “Power delivery could be likened to being on the crest of a virtually permanent horsepower wave. The Metro proved quite capable of accelerating without baulkiness from 20mph – an incredible feat for a full-blown competition engine.”

Of the availability of 85% of torque from 5000-9000rpm, and consequent staggering in-gear acceleration, Jones said: “The quickest interval was an amazing 1.3 seconds between 30 and 50mph in second gear.”

The 6R4’s warpspeed antics may have been spectacular, but its ultimate fate as a Group B car – and of its Lancia Delta S4, Audi Sport Quattro S1 and Ford RS200 rivals – was sealed almost as soon as it hit the rally circuit. The entire series was outlawed after a run of competitor and spectator fatalities. Nevertheless, a legend had been born, and its impact can still be felt today.