zzdcar
Home
/
Reviews
/
Racing
/
A Ridiculously Low-Mileage MG Metro 6R4 Rally Car Is Headed to Auction; Someone Buy This Ugly Thing
A Ridiculously Low-Mileage MG Metro 6R4 Rally Car Is Headed to Auction; Someone Buy This Ugly Thing-September 2024
2024-02-19 EST 22:11:09

All images via Silverstone Auctions

The —named after its six cylinders, rally purpose, and four-wheel drive—may be the ugliest Group B rally car ever, but it’s also incredibly soulful and it . One with only seven miles on its odometer is going up for auction in July, and my god is it a gorgeous example of racing hideousness.

The 6R4 is based on the , a hilariously conservatively-styled hatchback built by British Leyland in the 1980s. To rally-ify it, the Austin-Rover rally team added massive wheel flares, a giant wing on the front fascia, another giant wing on the rear hatch, and huge side intakes.

Image for article titled A Ridiculously Low-Mileage MG Metro 6R4 Rally Car Is Headed to Auction; Someone Buy This Ugly Thing

Those intakes fed a mid-mounted, naturally aspirated, 3.0-liter, four-valve-per-cylinder V6 engine called “V64V,” which—per —sent either 250 or ~410 horsepower (depending on whether it had a “Clubman” tune or an “International” tune) to all four wheels.

The stock MG Metro, by comparison, had the motor up front, just above the drive wheels. Between the powertrain and styling differences, it’s pretty obvious that the 6R4 is a hell of a long way from a standard Metro, even if they share a place in the Grand Hall of Hideous Machinery.

Image for article titled A Ridiculously Low-Mileage MG Metro 6R4 Rally Car Is Headed to Auction; Someone Buy This Ugly Thing

An enthusiast bought the car in these pictures—number 189 of the 200 homologation specials built, and one whose engine appears to be the 250 horsepower “Clubman” model—back in 1986 from Austin Rover Group Ltd. He then kept the car “tucked away for many years in its delivery state, coated in factory wax,” according to Silverstone Auctions’ .

Image for article titled A Ridiculously Low-Mileage MG Metro 6R4 Rally Car Is Headed to Auction; Someone Buy This Ugly Thing

For seven years, the car was part of an exhibition at a museum, until in 2002, it was sold to the current vendor, who has owned it for the past 17 years. In that time, he’s only “driven” the car for two miles on jack-stands, presumably to circulate fluid through the drivetrain. The current odometer figure reads “seven.”

Image for article titled A Ridiculously Low-Mileage MG Metro 6R4 Rally Car Is Headed to Auction; Someone Buy This Ugly Thing

There’s quite a bit of unpainted fiberglass on this 1985 MG Metro 6R4, and I think that just adds to the vehicle’s gloriously ugly allure.

Image for article titled A Ridiculously Low-Mileage MG Metro 6R4 Rally Car Is Headed to Auction; Someone Buy This Ugly Thing

The machine, whose history and tech you can read more about in my coworker , hits the auction block at the Silverstone Classic Auctions sale. That event will go down on the 27th and 28th of July at the Silverstone Circuit in the most British sounding place on earth: Northamptonshire.

Comments
Welcome to zzdcar comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
Racing
I Certainly Didn't Expect This Vintage Work Truck To Fly This Well
I Certainly Didn't Expect This Vintage Work Truck To Fly This Well
The video was just titled “Rally Truck Jump.” All of those things are relevant to my interests. I’ll click. I’ll watch. Even if it’s a garbage vertical video, I’m there, dude. I’ll watch all the sweet jumps. But I certainly didn’t expect to see a vintage work truck pretending to...
Sep 15, 2025
The Best Looking 911 Won The 24 Hours Of Le Mans As Porsche Owns Both GT Classes
The Best Looking 911 Won The 24 Hours Of Le Mans As Porsche Owns Both GT Classes
Porsche celebrated its this year with utter domination of both GT classes at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Porsche’s beloved “pink pig” livery finally redeemed itself with a commanding win of LMGTE Pro, and that’s on top of the No. 77 Dempsey-Proton Racing Porsche 911 RSR winning the LMGTE...
Sep 15, 2025
Driver Dies In Vintage Racing Crash At Canadian Tire Motorsport Park
Driver Dies In Vintage Racing Crash At Canadian Tire Motorsport Park
Jeff Green, an Illinois dealership owner and former Pro Mazda Championship racer, died Saturday in a wreck at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. Green turned 61 just a week before, and friends described him as a “true gentleman who would always help anyone out at any time” in Facebook posts after...
Sep 15, 2025
Toyota's First Hybrid Le Mans Prototype Was The Coolest Sounding Race Car Of The Modern Era
Toyota's First Hybrid Le Mans Prototype Was The Coolest Sounding Race Car Of The Modern Era
This year , from Audi vs everybody to Audi vs Peugeot to Audi vs Porsche to Porsche vs Toyota to Toyota vs itself. Among all of these vehicles, let’s remember the one that most sounded like a pod racer: the Toyota TS030. The TS030 was a fast car that never...
Sep 15, 2025
Brace Yourselves Because Alonso Is Going Back To Indy And Alonsomania Is Just Getting Started
Brace Yourselves Because Alonso Is Going Back To Indy And Alonsomania Is Just Getting Started
Motorsport renaissance man and two-time Formula One world champ Fernando Alonso was part of the winning No. 8 Toyota TS050 team that finally—after years of almost winning and absolute heartbreak—. Now that he’s got two of the three wins for the Triple Crown of Motorsport, it’s obvious where he’s heading...
Sep 15, 2025
Toyota Wins The 24 Hours Of Le Mans With Precision From Pole
Toyota Wins The 24 Hours Of Le Mans With Precision From Pole
After years of trying and failing, the No. 8 Toyota TS050 Hybrid has finally taken the Le Mans victory the team has so desperately wanted. In doing so, Toyota has become only the second Japanese manufacturer in history to win the race overall, following on from Mazda’s 1991 victory. While...
Sep 15, 2025
Copyright 2023-2025 - www.zzdcar.com All Rights Reserved