METRO MADNESS! - The FORGOTTEN, FUTURISTIC! Austin and Rover Metros!
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 15 มิ.ย. 2024
- in this video we cover some of the maddest Rover and Austin Metros ever made, including the performance models by Wood & Pickett as well as the short lived Fraser Tickford Metro that ended up being sold by Aston Martin. The concepts that were ahead of their time like the ADC Metro scout and Metro PSC1 as well as talking about one of the most mysterious of all metros the Rover Metro SP or Special Products.
I have credited where possible but as usual I would like to add AROnline are an incredibly valuable source of information and you should check them out here: www.aronline.co.uk/
Follow me on Instagram for more cool stuff: / daddmin - ยานยนต์และพาหนะ
'Lynn, I'm not driving a Mini Metro.'
'No, it's different. It's called a Rover Metro now.'
'They've re-badged it, you fool!'
No, the proper 6R4s did NOT have a cutdown Rover V8. That was only the very first experimental prototype versions. The Rover V8 has incredibly poor breathing which severely limits power potential. Instead they designed and built a 6R4 specific race engine of 3ltr quad cam 24 valve NA specs and 400bhp in race trim. That cutdown Rover would never have achieved that kind of power, reliability and usefulness. They laterly used the 6R4 engine, this time taken out to 3.5ltr and with twin turbos, in the XJ220 with 542bhp (or 680bhp in the XJ220S TWR version!)
The engine was also used in that sports racer made by that Scottish racecar company, the name of suddenly escapes me. Think it starts with A, or something.
@@huwzebediahthomas9193 TWR (which is from England, Walkinshaw was Scottish), car was the Jaguar XJR-10 - TWR’s ‘chosen one’, Martin Brundle called it the worst car he raced in Motorsport magazine, early 1999 and unsurprisingly, it had its AZ handed on a plate by Sauber that year
Early in my driving career (90s) I built my own special metro using an MG turbo engine, a full V.P. interior and an aftermarket body kit all thrown at a lowly city plus. Later I sourced a 1.8 k series but bought an Alfa Sud before I finished it! As far as I know it's still on the road!
I've owned a few Metros, MG turbo, MG 1275. Forever getting the Hydraumatic suspension pumped up for some unknown reasons. Not to mention the gearbox lock ups when the diff broke up and left it unmovable, head gaskets , overheating. The odd size wheels, till i put 13" on them. The lack of a 5th gear. This is on the older cars not the Rover Metros. I could go on about all the grief I had, but I'd be here all day.
But when they did work they were fun to drive, just as long as you thrash the nuts of them.
In the early to mid-eighties my uncle worked for a fibreglass company and made some GRP body parts for the 6R4. As a primary school boy, I was crazy about the car along with most ARG products and this was a cherished but tenuous link to a rally legend 😂
I've owned 6 Metro GTi-16v's and they were fantastic. One was the 1-of-500 GTi-SE which would be worth a fortune nowadays. They were the butt of many jokes, but that made it sweeter when you raced someone and beat them. Into 3 of them I installed the 1.8 16v K-Series. The best one was a VVC with a solid cam kit and a few other bolt ons which made 165bhp, coupled with a full SD rollcage and lightened as much as road-legally possible. From memory it was a little over 800kg. Scarily fast
Ooh I'd LOVE a Frazer Tickford Metro, they look epic.
A couple of friends of mine used to have the MG Metro Turbo, now they were fun when we were in our late Teens, racing round the Back Lanes of South Devon 🚙
Tom the delivery and editing was so much more relaxed and extremely enjoyable. Agree that the 6R4 was not a Rover V8 mod but in all other ways it was great. You are really growing into this research gig and I congratulate you!
Rob
Early 6R4 used a cut down Rv8 derived engine as a stop gap, the actual proper engine was a clean sheet design by TWR that has nothing to do witb the Rv8 & went on to form the basis of the 3.5 twin turbo derivative used in the Jag XJ220. Great vid with some real oddities!
It must of been a incredibly frustrating being a project designer in BL, ther we’re obviously some seriously talented people working here with narrow minded upper management stifling creativity.
I had the MG metro and the MG Turbo and although 115mph was max speed, the way they drove ie the experience was second to none. . Amazing little car later on I owned a couple of GTi s 16valve and that was also a great handling car. It maybe cuz of the hydro elastic suspension that the metro had was so adjustable literally via a Shardona valve, mine had nitrogen in thanks to the previous owner working for a rally team in Milton Keynes Buckinghamshire. I loved that period in time for hot hatches where you could be a boy racer for very low costs a speed cameras were not even a thing.
Ah yes I had an MG in the early 90's and can only describe driving it as a "Jet powered" roller skate. 😉 I did have a battery draining issue due to the immobilising alarm, that was disappointing. Resulting in daily starting and running being a must. But great fun to own back then.
The VW Polo with a boot was called the Derby. I still have a Haynes manual for the Mk1 Polo and the Derby (my first car was a VW Polo, but I started driving lessons in a a white Metro 😉).
Loved my MG Metro ❤
You are The Oracle Tom ............................. great vid, thank you
Such a fantastic insight into the Austin/Rover metro and all the different and some unknown models manufactured. Thank you
Just a shame the majority of what he states is very inaccurate and much of which is also wrong!
I believe the engineer that headed the Audi A2 project was also the engineer that headed the aluminium Metro project.
0:28 how we drove cautiously 'back in the day' over fords and flooded roads so as to not get the distributor wet. *my first car was a Metro 1.0 van. Good times 🎉
They also did a metro GTI mpi… it had half leathers and a 150mph speedometer instead of 130mph on the standard GTI
Hi Tom great video
The metro plus body kit was sold by unipart in mid 80s I fitted one in 85 to my 83 MG
They went on to be sold by another company for the fraction of the price. I fitted one of those to a 1.3HLE I fitted with a 1,4 A series downdraft webber and alloy wheels. I badged this as metro GT
A friends Father worked on the Metro Gti turbo and said the project was dropped because under full boost the gearboxes were failing, this was a Peugeot Citroen box that was not really designed for the power or torque of the Gti , let alone the turbo. The cost of redesign and strengthening was not deemed cost effective for the quantity of production expected. The Honda box would have been perfect but the alterations to the body and the increased production costs were rejected. Even on the standard 1.4 the gearbox got thrashy and I had all the bearings replaced on my GTi and it went silent and was like a new car. I put 100,000 miles on that bright red car never once let me down NO head gasket problems !. It was a time when Rover got their act together such a fun little car.
I sat inside a Frazer Tickford Metro back in the 80s 😎
Didn't know there was so few of them 🤯
They were underwhelming but the leather interior was impressive for a metro.
The Plus kit bits ended up getting sold off cheap via Unipart dealers - I picked up a set of the wheels for my mum’s 1.3 auto…for £11 a wheel.
I really enjoyed your presentation mate. I have a blue Metro City and a Black MG Metro that need attention. You may have just given the impetus to get them back on the road.... cheers
Good work Tom, a well edited video with lots of video and photo's and info
Glad you enjoyed it
Brilliant and Superb content, highly enjoyable and hope for more like this. Maybe a Maestro / Montego one but who would have thought how many largely unknown Metros were made
Thanks Glen, appreciate the feedback. Will look into a Maestro and Montego video for the future
The designer of the Escort RS Cosworth appeared on Wheeler Dealer's US with Mike&Ant.
A friend of mine had a supercharged one,sure it was a GTA but could be wrong but definitely supercharged.
Dad worked for BL as a parts manager, this is giving me flashbacks.
Good video, entertaining and informative, just a couple of notes; 1) the R in 6R4 stands for 'Rally'. The car was mid-engined, not rear. 2) the MGF suspension is based on Rover Metro sub frames, interconnected frontbto rear, as on the Rover road car. (The A series Austins and MGs had Hydragas spheres interconnected side to side.)
Keep up the good work.
I really enjoyed watching that.
Great video👍
Another great Video Tom. It's hard to think of a more terrifying car than the 6R4. You are the crumple zone.
I remember seeing the Metro Scout in Lower Stondon, visited ths museum for a few years before its closure.
Top content @Tom Drives
Thanks man , very interesting 👍😊
Thanks Matthew! Appreciate you as always
Hi Tim, another great video, I had a red 1989 Austin metro GTA, thus had black side skirts nice alloys black front grill with same engine as dr the Mg metro . With the black skirt kit it looked a lot better that Mg version. I didn’t understand why they didn’t fit thus kit on the Mg version because really looks better . The scout telly great car if was produced . Regards mark
Used to love driving the 1.4si, nippy and some fun handling. Forgot the variomatic..That was just weird.
superb vid tom
Thanks Chris!
The Metro Scout wasn't years ahead, we had already seen the Matra (Simca) Rancho in the late 1980s.
The early Metro Cooper was great - pre-emptied the glorious MG Metro (probably my favourite ARG car). The 6R4 was simply bonkers - I challenge you to watch one bouncing along a forest rally stage and not smile.
I had a metro 1.4 GTA 1990 loved it reg plate was H301ENK
The Scout looks really modern!
Interesting Tom, quite a few. I wasn’t aware of, well done for pulling this together!
Thanks :)
There's still some surviving Tickfords,
I think there may be one or two Wood & Picket ones too ?
There is possibly at least one Metro Cooper.
The Scout, was sold at auction some years ago and was bought by someone, who immediately listed it for several times the auction price, nobody bit.
It got listed a few times then seemed to go off the radar. Re-emerged a few years later and I'm sure someone on one of the FB pages (metro owners club?) bought it?
Tom would the Austin gypsy make a good addition.?
Great work remarkable how many iterations of the metro were produced/designed can see a lot of the LR discovery features in some of the design's rear door/ wiper .
Is that modified mk 1 FIAT Uno rearlights on the Metro Saloon? 🤨
I had the Turbo…… it needed an inter cooler….. but was a cool little motor😎👌🏽
Looking at the Metro Saloon model, my sense of implausibility is triggered by how low the fuel filler flap is. This is supposed to be a fillup, not a game of limbo!
That scout just screams 'design study for the 5 door Freelander' to me.
Wow ,,, very forwards thinking ,, but would it have been enough , some very interesting variants .
Had a new GTA in 1989 loved it but 1275 A+ engine lacked a bit of grunt . Part chopped it in 1992 for a GTI Rover Metro ,it had the Grunt but I personally didn’t think it was as nice overall as my GTA . Unfortunately both got smashed up the GTA by the young girl would bought it from the dealer (Kennings) . My GTI with me in it along with a mate of mine in 2003 . Whilst heading out one evening to meet the lads we had just driven through one of the local villages when some kind soul decided they should be driving on my side of the road despite nothing being in on the correct side of the road. The appearance of two headlights coming straight for you was slightly alarming to say the least , especially as the grass verge was only a couple of feet wide ,therefore giving me not much room to move over . With an exclamation to my mate of , he’s going to hit us I remember moving as far over to the left as I could at the same time thinking what ever you do , do not touch the brakes , as the two left hand wheels were now on grass and the right hand we’re on the tarmac of the road . After the impact which must have been a combined 85-100 miles per hour as I was doing about 40 having just come out of the village and into open countryside. The. Impact felt like an explosion seat belts doing there job although I was flung forward and rotated enough on my seat to cut around my eye on the interior mirror.
As an engineer I was fascinated to look at how the pedals had lifted up on impact and the engine and gearbox had been pushed down and and had started to be pushed under the floor. The roof was creased and crumpled up to the rear of the sun roof and we had to climb out of the drivers side window. I had just filled up with petrol also so engine kill did its job .
I think I can say I possibly owe my life the Austin Rover engineers as their safety impact design certainly did its job , I always loved my BL , Austin Rover cars they had their faults but then again no more than most cars of the day .
The car that hit us was a Rover 25 and had nowhere near the damage as my GTI , I presume as a slightly bigger car and of course it would a later designed car and that’s progress. The kind soul who was driving turned out to be a Portuguese chap , he didn’t hang around for the police of course despite drivers who came on the scene after trying to prevent him . The car was stolen on false plates and it explained why he was on the wrong side of the road . The Police did get him as after a description I gave they had a good idea where he was living.
I had a 1984 a reg metro 1.0 hle. When I was 19 for my second car. It was only 2 years old when my mum sold it to me and let me pay monthly for it she bought another new one. I loved it especially as it was like having a brand new car at a young age. I’m in my mid 50s now and I have an r reg rover 114 sli. As a modern classic I love it as much as the first time round
I wouldn’t mind one myself great little cars! Love the fact you’re still at it, a real enthusiast
@@tomdrives I was lucky to find a rust free one with no welding. But I’ve allways had an austin or morris or rover of some sort. .shame you aren’t in my area you could have had a drive of it. I just recently spent £700 having all the hydra gas units replaced with reconditioned ones so it now drives like it did when it was new
Have you found any examples of the Metro 8R4 produced by FG Rallying on the Isle of Wight?
Remember watching these being raced at lyneham rally circuit in wiltshire, and at the European rallycross championship
The Saloon was just tragic !!
Well done for bringing so many lesser known varieties together.
Thank you!
Thanks,I owned a few early Metros, they were OK ,but still running an A series engine, which was well proven and reliable, but ancient. I seem to recall the Fiesta had also been launched and went on to dominate the sales chart for many years, now sadly terminated.
Seems they had plenty of ideas that did not make it into production, but the company was dying.
Great video but you missed the rover metro cabriolet I still love them now
I did! I found that out after uploading. There's always the next one.
i had a rover metro gta british racing green with red stripes had to get rid due to rust on the wheel arches
How about the OVAL Metro? any news😮
10:10 - The Belmont Orion Metro Booty.
I had a base model in 1980 and later an MG in 1990. Never mind he weird wonders, I would have settled simply for a gear-change that actually worked.
Same for the Maestro I had in between.
I had 1 a mg a think it woos a G registration I had lovely interior and I let it to die I fell so bad now good video I really enjoy that thanks
I know the whereabouts of the Scout. It’s in my town in Scotland, at least I think it’s the genuine article. I didn’t realise it was a one off, I just assumed it was a lesser known special edition.
If I manage to get some pictures I will contact you.
What about the Ranger pick up then? I heard Gaydon sold the prototype back in 2003?
I’ve left some out, I’ll be making a video on that.
@@tomdrives I look forward to it! Had 2 Austin Metros and 2 later Rover ones; great little cars! (and that's a classic Mini fan talking...)
Hints of Moke.
@@vickielawless Had an '83 and an '87 MG Metro 1300, both in black. In 1987 was initially intending to buy the Metro Turbo version, until I met someone in the showroom, who told me his Turbo went through three gearboxes in 18 months from new. They kept exploding.
Had f reg 88 metro city brand new had a metro s h reg 91 both great cars😊
Someone had a Tickford Metro near one of the stores I worked for, it was always park close to the bank so I think it might have been the bank managers , it was black bottom fading into Maroon , lovely looking car but was full of cigar ash !
EDIT- I forgot to mention my 1st car was Red MG Metro MK1, with pepperpot alloys, no photos unfortunately as it was long before digital cameras .
Sounds very of period and the cigar ash does point to your suspicion
Had me a mg turbo love to get it back if anyone knows were reg A885 RCR is in n.ireland reply or any cheap projects going reply pls
Few things I'd like to say.
1) What advert is that at the start of the episode
2) On October 30th AROnline said by 2024 they would be shutting down 😞
Not shutting down now! 🥳🤘
I might be the only person in earth to suffer a phobia of the metro lol. While on work experience when I was 17 I was working at a local garage, we were under the metro working on the main ramp when it slipped! I happened to be the tallest of the 3 of us under it and ended up with a fractured skull!
I remember back in my early driving days (the early 90s) a guy driving an extensively modified Metro Turbo (black body and florescent wheels from what i remember? Or that the car had florescent bumpers?) The car was a bit of a legend round town and musta been decent as here in Essex hot hatches and fast cars are in our blood. I also remember being very impressed by the performance of a Metro GTI that i raced while i was behind the wheel of an Astra GTE 1.8ltr (115bhp 60 in around 9 seconds top speed 124mph) I had been in untold numbers of Metros over the years but nothing close to being that quick. I would say that the GTE and GTI were pretty much of equal pace. The girl driving the GTI was also a good driver too.
I always had a lot of respect for Minis and Metros but always felt the Metro just wasn't the evolution it should have been. Even the Turbos weren't exactly pedestal material sadly. Wasted potential. Really the Metro Turbo should have been equal performance wise to the Renault 5 GT Turbo, being similar size, weight, engine size etc. But instead the Metro was about 2 seconds slower to 60 and 10+mph down top end. It also stuck with a bloody 4 speed manual which pretty much everything else had gone 5 speed. Metros also just didn't have the attractiv
Metros just didn't have the youth appeal of the 205, Renault 5, Nova, Fiesta etc.
But the 6R4 will ALWAYS remain my all-time favourite racecar. Those utterly INSANE looks! The 6R4 looks like a standard Metro only from the glass up, the rest of the car swollen, aggressive, purposefull and mean. Then you have that roaring, high revving brutal V6 barking and then screaming off down the road at staggering speed! Then Will Gallop took a 6R4 to Rallycross and decided that 400bhp was nowhere near enough power! So he twin turbo'd the engine (plus also reducing the engine capacity from 3ltr to 2.3ltr I think? Done to keep the car in the right competition company) giving him over 900bhp! The NA 400bhp 6R4 hits 60 in the low 4s/high 3s (?) Gallops 6R4 hit it in under 3 seconds!
Could u imagine one with the homda vtec
Williams F1 built the 6R4 Metro. Leyland/ARG sponsored the team in the early 80s.
That would really be Williams Grand Prix Engineering that built and designed the 6R4
My first girlfriend had a metro E957 PCL always remember her say pretty cool lady. Lol. It was rusting on the doors almost new lol
AR Online is no more.
Can we look to crowdfund it?
Please reply & share this
Still there for a few more weeks, but yeah, sad news 😞
Thankfully they had a change of heart 🥳🥳🥳
The engine in the 6R4 is not a modified Rover V8. It is a bespoke engine designed by David Wood with twin overhead cams and 4 valves per cylinder.
Do you have a source for that so I can pin that amendment? All I saw pointed to what I said.
Did I miss the Aston Tickford metro???
Here's some brief footage of the Ogle Metro from Wood & Pickett at the 1980 Motor Show -
th-cam.com/video/kGCTTSaUxak/w-d-xo.html
the adc scout was owned by a member of rewwm group on face book, i think he even had spare fiberglass panels so you could convert other metros
Would you be able to let him know if I’m interested if possible or point me in the right direction?
@@tomdrives the owner of the panels has come forward fingers crossed car owner next
@@123jrh1 saw that, thanks again John
I have reason to believe it’s in Scotland. I pass by this yellow crazy looking Metro sitting in a courtyard quite often. Not 100% sure it’s the real deal but I will go check it out.
Didn't hear you mention the 4r2.
That was a Mini based fibreglass kit car if I remember- designed by the same company who did the cut down Mini Minus kit..
It was certainly downhill after the mini .
my first car was a mg metro turbo
No metro convertible 😂 my dad had a metro van for work back in the 90’s
I think the tickford metro was fitted with the kat body kit
It wasn’t, it was designed in house.
Class👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼new sub
Surely the oddest Metro was the Half & Half,, one side a three door MG, the other 5 door VPlas.
I was there , this happened
@@MrBlaugeist My local dealer had one on its opening day. Trying to remember, as you looked at it, if M was the left side, or G the right side.
The tickford turbo metro
I think an Alcan Metro turbo had it been
built could have beaten an AE 86 !!
Hmm metro scout Post dated the sadly missed simca Talbot rancho...
💯
Bet the scout came with large mud flaps as well 😂
The prototype MG Metro 6R4 is still in the museum at Gaydon. It used a cut-down Rover V8. But the actual production 6R4 had a bespoke engine, as others have said.
An interesting Metro variant is the MG Metro Turbo, that was a test bed for an experimental 1.3 litre, straight six.
" without murdering you to death " 😅
😂
@@tomdrives did I tell ya , I emailed and called MG , Hq !?
Hahaha bet they got flooded !!!!
All i can say is i had a Metro MG Turbo in the late 80s and it was just Brill 👍👍
That metro saloon is pretty damn ugly. 😂 My first ever crash was in a 1981 metro. It was the company run around at my first job. 😅
Mg metro turbo
My mate had a metro turbo on a 'B' plate kind of olde English white over grey. Had a little row of green LEDs when the turbo kicked in on the Speedo dial, bit like Knight Rider🤣. Actually went pretty quick for the time although not so quick now especially. Saw one for sale at Goodwood Festival of Speed this year. £16k. Think he sold it for about £400 in the early 90's 🤑
The Metro turbo and 6r4 saw incredible success ? No they didn’t:
Research 😉
I had a couple of the MG Metros and to be honest they were both really good!
Passed my driving test in a gta
When one thinks about the Austin and Rover Metro, it really came a decade too late to truly matter in the face of next generation supermini opposition with the 205 and Uno arriving soon after. Otherwise had a half competently managed company plausibly produced a car like the Metro in 1970 with the right suspension and gearbox (R6), it would have had a near decade and a half competitive run even given its relatively smaller dimensions against rivals that were only just tentatively finding their feet.
Fantasy nonsense.
A well made video and good luck to you. Those metro's were dreadfull tat & subsidised by tax payers!