► Box-fresh 175-mile Metro 6R4 for sale
► Group B rally hero at Silverstone Auctions
► One of 200 roadgoing Clubmans built
This caught our eye: a rare chance to buy an original roadgoing MG Metro 6R4 Group B rally car at auction. It’s in mint spec, with a scarcely believable 175 miles on the clock.
The 1985 rally hero is being offered at the Autosport International Sale on 12 January 2019. One of only 200 homologation cars built, this 6R4 was originally bought by Williams Grand Prix Engineering in 1988, hence the box-fresh mileage. It has since passed through various collectors and was recommissioned in 2017.
Tasty! How much will the MG Metro 6R4 fetch at auction?
Silverstone Auctions estimates the likely value at between £180,000 to £200,000.
‘One of rallying’s true icons, the MG Metro 6R4 stands up there with legendary 80s classics like the Audi Quattro, Lancia 037 and Renault 5 Turbo,’ said Lionel Abbott, classic car specialist at Silverstone Auctions. ‘This is the closest you can get to driving a Group B rally car on the road. A homologation special like this with such low mileage presents a rare opportunity for rally fans and enthusiasts alike.’
The 6R4 was emblematic of the crazed Group B era, when humble superminis packed 4wd and monumental punch of 600bhp and beyond: the Metro was developed in collaboration with the Williams F1 team and in this roadgoing Clubman spec packed a 250bhp 3.0-litre mid-mounted V6 and four-wheel drive.
Read on for our period review of the roadgoing Metro 6R4 in one of our archive gems from CAR magazine 1987.