Snowdog, you do realise in rally spec that the Metro 6R4 would hit 60mph from a standstill in under 4 seconds on loose gravel?? It's just brutal. The Skyline - all 800bhp of it - wouldn't have a prayer on the loose.
A £40000 V6 Metro?
- Thread starter Defcon5
- Start date
Snowdog, you do realise in rally spec that the Metro 6R4 would hit 60mph from a standstill in under 4 seconds on loose gravel?? It's just brutal. The Skyline - all 800bhp of it - wouldn't have a prayer on the loose.
Well said.
First time I saw a 6R4 was at Chatsworth on the 1985 RAC with Tony Pond at the wheel. I was 9, and the noise was earsplitting! That's one memory I won't be forgetting. Fantastic car - 1% Metro, 99% drugs induced lateral thinking.
As with most competition cars they are built for effect within a set of rules more than for their asthetic prowess. Back in the day and with tarmac tyres, I thought the 6R4 looked amazing and sounded fantastic. This car is over 20 years old, so by modern standards it is going to look dated and out of place but I remember the impact it had back when which will be lost on many of the people contributing to this thread. In 20 years time the people on this thread who seem perplexed will be defending the Skyline when a load of teenagers suggest they were stupid for wanting one over the new electric Honford!
Same engine as the xj220 isnt it. I wouldnt want one of these, the wheelbase is too short. They spin on the spot
If I'm not wrong 6R4 engine was made from a Rover V8 engine that was cut down to a V6 with 2 turbos. As the 6R4 Metro was a Group B rally car, power was around 450 hp. This engine came back in a 550hp version in 1992 in the Jaguar XJ220
The 6R4 engine was a V6 without Turbo's, though these were added to some of the Rallycross cars over the years. It was effectively the Rover V8 base with 2 cylinders removed (I am sure there was much more to it than that of course) and also formed the basis of the XJ220 engine with turbo's, and as I recall was also used in the Group C Jag's when they went to turbo engines from the V12's. The V12 was of course planned to fit into the XJ220 at first, but for packaging problems to scupper that. It was a tall engine too, which is one of the reasons the XJ15 was such a dangerous car to drive on the limit.
In Group B days the 6R4's were discussed as 420bhp, but it was common for only the best ones to hit this number and most were closer to 400bhp as I recall. Patrick Head felt the NA power characteristics would offer and advantage over the turbo rivals and make them easier to drive, which they did, but then Audi, Lancia and Peugeot were delivering close to 600bhp and at the end of the day were just too quick. The 6R4 was also very sharp due to its short wheelbase which took some getting used to from what I remember.
In Group B days the 6R4's were discussed as 420bhp, but it was common for only the best ones to hit this number and most were closer to 400bhp as I recall. Patrick Head felt the NA power characteristics would offer and advantage over the turbo rivals and make them easier to drive, which they did, but then Audi, Lancia and Peugeot were delivering close to 600bhp and at the end of the day were just too quick. The 6R4 was also very sharp due to its short wheelbase which took some getting used to from what I remember.
Unfortunatley you are dealing with the F&F brigade, where the computer infested skyline is the be-all and end-all of motoring
Unfortunatley you are dealing with the F&F brigade, where the computer infested skyline is the be-all and end-all of motoring
Shouldn't that say e39 530i ?
Lots of history on the 6R4 at http://www.austin-rover.co.uk/index.htm?mgrev6r4f.htm
It was a completely fresh engine design.
...And if you believe the rumours, they cost well into six figures each.
The fact that twenty odd grand would buy you a clubby one post-group B is astounding.
*n
The 6R4 engine won the Group C2 class of the World Sports Car Championship in the back of the Eccurie Ecosse too, though I seem to recall they made a number of modifications to that engine to make it run reliably, which were later passed down to Austin Rover for inclusion in the Rally Car.
would have been mad had Group B not been banned and Group S gone ahead...the cars would have been even madder, the group B cars would have been the 'sensible' option...
Current WRC regs are basically Group S anyway...
I'd love for a prototype class though.
Physical dimension limits, minimum weight limit, capacity limits (4000cc n/a or 2000cc forced induction), you have to build 100 of them, 20 are used for crash testing, 50 HAVE to be offered to the public for £150,000 each and the rest are yours to compete in for two years.
The nature of rallying dictates it's own performance limits; 1000bhp is just not usable at all whilst maintaining any semblance of reliability.
*n
The main advances since Group B has been around transmission and electronics to aid traction. The Group B cars really had too much power and span much of it away on gravel, which is why a modern Group A car with around 300bhp is faster over a stage. Put them on tarmac, on slick tyres and in a straight line, and the Group B car would be quicker, but add bends, gravel and other such challenges and the modern cars simply kill the Group B monsters.