By the early 1980s a slew of great cars were on offer for the performance conscious driver. British Leyland, through luck or judgement had stopped production of the ageing MGB in 1980. This meant they could aim more resources at the new “Hot Hatch” market. As the Mini Cooper S was retired in 1971 there was space in the British Leyland range for a fast, fun small car.

A Brute Force Approach

British Leyland had an embarrassment of riches to enter this market. A wide range of platforms, engines, badges and brands could be used. Rather than build something to compete directly against the Golf GTI and Peugeot 205 GTI, British Leyland decided on a brute force approach. The Metro, Maestro and Montego would be assigned more powerful engines and sportier suspension for “MG” badged versions. This made for wider appeal plus the added cachet of the MG badge, even if it upset the purists, being on a hatchback and not a sports car with a leaking roof.

The Metro Cooper

Making use of the MG badge for these performance biased cars was a good move, effectively creating a performance sub brand. One striking omission was the lack of a Cooper badge. John Cooper had effectively invented the hot hatch with the original Mini Cooper. It seemed logical that a Cooper version of the Metro would follow.

The Metro was a practical, modern hatchback. With a tweaked engine and Cooper badges linking it to its famous predecessor, the Metro Cooper would be a surefire hit. Work on building this had started shortly after John Cooper had driven an early version of the Metro.

He was impressed and singled out the Metro as a worthy successor to the Mini Cooper. The Cooper badge had decades of motorsport history associated with it. Certainly enough to compete with the popular new GTI models from Volkswagen, Peugeot and the like.

The Modifications Begin

John Cooper began building the Metro Cooper with his team in 1980. The new Metro would be tweaked to improve performance, handling and styling. Cooper’s team were incredibly knowledgeable on tuning the A-series engine and had assembled the parts to improve performance, styling and handling.

The engine setup included a new camshaft, larger inlet valve, polished head, twin carburettors and a freer flowing exhaust manifold. This got the engine to 88 bhp (a useful amount more than the MG Metro). Wolfrace alloy wheels and side graphics completed the updated visual package.

Metro Cooper Project Cancelled

The prototype Metro Cooper was left with British Leyland for analysis. After comparing performance figures, an issue was raised about launching the Metro Cooper at the same time as the MG Metro.

A separate concern was raised about the warranty. The Metro Cooper was never a factory backed project. As such, any aftermarket items fitted to the Metro would invalidate the British Leyland warranty, no matter who fitted them. Having to sell a car without a warranty made Wadham Stringer nervous.

The Metro Cooper was renamed Metro Monaco to satisfy any problems British Leyland might have had with the Cooper name (The Monaco was the name of a Cooper racing car).

It’s difficult to say whether the timing or the warranty was the real issue behind the Metro Cooper’s cancellation. However the cost implications were quite clear. John Cooper confirmed the list price of the MG Metro was cheaper than the car they would buy to start converting to a Cooper.

While the Cooper badge had significant cachet, it’s difficult to say how much more people were willing to pay. In the end Wadham Stringer decided the risk of selling a Metro Cooper without a warranty was too great and ended involvement in the project.

In a strange turn of fate, the Metro never really replaced the Mini. This meant that John Cooper would continue to sell Mini Cooper’s until 2001. This left the Metro Cooper nothing more than a sad footnote in history.

Other Metro Performance Variants

The need for performance variants of the Metro resulted in a wide variety of models over the years:

1981 Metro Cooper (2 prototypes produced)

1982 MG Metro (120,197 produced)

1983 MG Metro Turbo (21,968 produced)

1985 Metro 6R4 (205 produced)

1986 MG Metro 9x 6 cylinder turbo (1 prototype made)

1990 Metro GTa (Now Rover 100)

1990 Metro GTI (Now Rover 100)

Taking cues from the 1978 Pininfarina XJSpider concept car, Keith Helfet would design the F-Type. The range would contain a Coupe/Targa (XJ41) and a convertible (XJ42). Sir William Lyons had retired from Jaguar, but the team took the XJ41 for his approval. Apparently Lyons was fond of Helfet’s work and deemed it worthy of the badge.

Almost a decade later, the XJ41/42 project was bloated with safety legislation and unnecessary complications. A separate dashboard for right and left hand drive cars was decided on, rather than a modular one that could be adapted for both. The design team opted for a big hatched boot rather than the simpler, smaller boot. As the car got bigger and heavier, the engine was changed to a twin turbo straight six with four wheel drive.

While it was apparently very fast with the new engine (easily past 170mph at Nardo) the 1800kg the XJ41 wasn’t the sports car Jaguar intended to be.

When Ford took over Jaguar in 1999 projects were reviewed. The expensive and delayed XJ 41/42 project came under close scrutiny. The XJ41 had turned from a small lightweight sports car into another XJS.

Employees booked a lot of overtime against the project so Ford put it on hold. Jaguar was in a precarious financial situation, so had no choice but to go along with Ford’s recommendation.

Another Chance?

Tom Walkinshaw at Jaguarsport (part TWR part Jaguar owned sub company) saw an opportunity with the XJ41 and attempted to get Peter Stevens to re-design it. While this didn’t come to fruition due to Steven’s workload, Walkinshaw contacted Ian Callum instead. The XJ41 was redesigned and presented to Jaguar. The XJ41 was turned down again, due to the company’s precarious financial position.

The Jaguar Changes Its Spots

When Ford started looking at building a new Aston Martin, the XJ41 project seemed to be the obvious contender. Ian Callum’s redesigned XJ41 became Aston Martin’s new DB7.

Revealed at the Geneva show in 1993, the Aston Martin DB7 received a rapturous reception. The complicated bloodline of the DB7 could be traced right back to a car intended to replace the legendary E-Type. The DB7 was launched in 1994 and its strong sales enabled Aston Martin to grow as a brand under Ford.

The Mini ERA turbo is one of the more distinctive variants of the iconic mini. I’m ashamed to say I used to think the ERA was simply a Mini with a bodykit… After being hastily corrected by an owner at a show, I was then told of the changes to the ERA model. This was not another lazy limited edition with a new stripe on the side, but perhaps the most significantly reworked Mini.

The ERA variant of the Mini was so called because Engineering Research and Application (ERA) were the company behind it. They met with Austin Rover and proposed a new variant of Mini that would be built by ERA and sold and serviced by existing dealers.

ERA Mini Design & Engineering

On meeting with Austin Rover in 1988, ERA shared a detailed file of their plan. It covered the engineering and design concepts along with projected performance, costs and profit margin. It was considered a spiritual successor to the discontinued Cooper S.

By now Austin Rover had stopped production of the Metro, including the MG and Turbo models. This meant missing out on the lucrative “hot hatch” market. The easiest way back into the market was to use the long standing Mini, but the Mini Cooper was simply too old and outgunned by faster, more modern machinery.

By making use of the Metro Turbo engine, ERA could build a Mini that would perform competitively using mostly standard components and have it ready the following year. At this point it’s pertinent to note that the Mini had outlasted the Metro which was supposed to replace it. Although the Mini was long in the tooth, it was deemed a good enough base for another “hot hatch”.

Modifications & Concepts

The proposal discussed key engineering and design concepts, explaining in detail the modifications needed to get the Mini ERA project up and running. These explained the aims of the project.

Following the initial proposal, a competition derived A series turbo was built. This was used to test the cars performance and handling. While many people quote the direct use of the Metro Turbo engine, the Mini ERA sales brochure noted that the engine had undergone significant durability testing – which may have indicated further changes. The following modifications were confirmed on the final road car:

• Dellorto horizontal 45mm twin choke carburetter
• Turbo with 12psi boost
• Intercooler
• Lightweight forged pistons and compression rate dropped to 7:1
• Modified cylinder head with 1300 inlet valves
• New camshaft
• New headgasket
• Modified gearbox
• Lowered by 15mm
• Rear anti roll bar
• Toe out and negative camber to prevent torque steer

Mini ERA Turbo Performance

Visually the Mini ERA is easy to spot with the chunky 80s bodykit set off by star shaped alloys with concealed wheelnuts. The interior was changed to include adapted Metro seats and a center console with a boost gauge. The interior made use of connolly leather, thicker sound insulation and a sunroof. The brief was performance but with luxury too.

Of course, what really sets this car apart from the myriad of limited edition Minis, is the performance. In place of the usual revvy A-Series character, is a torque rich engine, making progress easy. The ERA car would remain the most powerful Mini even when compared with the last Cooper models when the Mini itself ended production in 2000.

The Legacy 

For many, owning an original Mini ERA Turbo is something of a dream come true. With only 436 cars produced from a planned 1000, it’s rarer than a Mini Cooper S and yet cheaper. The turbo engine will be easier to drive in modern traffic than Mini’s of that vintage too. Indeed, anyone that’s used to wringing out the A series motor will find the shove of acceleration from the turbo engine a pleasant novelty!

Don’t let the bodykit fool you – In the world of drastically overpriced classic Minis the ERA Mini is good value and will always be the fastest official Mini ever sold.

As well as providing a great drive and cost effective transport; the Mini was an icon of British pop culture and had a classless quality. Expectations were high for any performance variant too. The Mini Cooper’s motor sport exploits were legendary. It was a 3 times winner at the Monte Carlo Rally and saw success in other forms of motor sport too. Would British Leyland be able to produce a worthy sequel to the Mini Cooper?

British Leyland & Badge Engineering

In 1980 British Leyland had retired the MGB and with it, the most popular of MGs. In 1982 the MG badge was added to the quick Metro to make it sportier sounding. It was a clever move, especially given all the badges and brands British Leyland owned at that time. MG badging was later used on the Maestro and Montego for their respective performance models.

The 1982 MG Metro was well specified with a spoiler, 13″ lattice wheels, body coloured bumpers and “MG Metro”graphics on the doors. The 1275cc A-Series engine got a new camshaft and head with bigger valves. This engine also used a bigger SU carburettor than the Mini ever did. This all resulted in 20% more power than the same engine in the Mini (aside from the very late Cooper models).

Motorsport

The Metro had zero motorsport heritage so when British Leyland started building a Group B rally car, basing it on the Metro was a chance to transfer some of the glamour of motorsport onto the normal Metro. The end result was the 1984 Metro 6R4. The 6R4 compared well against rivals from Audi and Peugeot. Unfortunately the Group B rally series would be cancelled in 1986 after some serious accidents. This resulted in an end to the 6R4 project for both the race car and the “clubman” road version.

MG Metro Driving Experience

I’ve driven a few MG Metros over the years, mainly as a result of looking to upgrade from the Mini I had. The MG Metro made use of Hydragas suspension (a development of the hydro-elastic suspension that was sometimes used on the Mini) which is a spring-less suspension system. It makes for an unusual ride, the cars small size and free revving engine goad you into throwing the car around and the Hydragas responds by letting the car roll into corners, but gripping better than you’d think. It’s far more comfortable than the stiffly sprung Mini, but doesn’t have the initial bite when turning into a corner. Thin A pillars provide a great view out the front and the Metro smother bumps where a Mini would bounce over them. The later Metro GTI adopted the de-rigueur badging of the VW Golf GTI and Peugeot 205 GTI. This car wasn’t remembered as fondly as its European rivals but received high praise in Autocar magazine.

Underrated Classic?

The Metro could do little about its illustrious forebear. It was small like its predecessor and had a similar driving position, but lost some of the charm, fun & ingenuity of the Mini. Replacing the Mini was always going to be a difficult job. The Metro went on to sell over 2 million units over a production run of 18 years. The Metro was actually was one of the most successful of all the British Leyland cars produced. It sold in high numbers, had a long production life under a variety of other names starting with Mini-Metro, then Austin Metro, MG Metro, Rover Metro and then it became the Rover 100 and the Metro badge was retired. While the Rover 100 struggled on until 1998, the Mini continued in production to 2000 despite it’s ancient design.

The MG Metro has swooped under the radar into classic status without any warning. Reading through various articles confirms it was something of a dark horse in the early 80s. With just 65 MG Metros remaining road legal, its rarity (mainly due to the UK Scrappage scheme) will push it into classic status. I think it’s well earned – The MG Metro isn’t The Godfather II of sequels, but it does help you appreciate how good the original was.

The DMC 12 was also famous for the wrong reasons. As company founder John Delorean struggled to raise funds to keep the company going, he became embroiled in a drug trafficking deal. Later cleared of all charges, Delorean and his company were tainted by the scandal. Without the desperately needed funding, the company went bankrupt in 1982.

The DMC 12 has unusual angular styling by Giorgetto Giugiaro, with bare stainless steel bodywork and gull wing doors. Mechanically the DMC 12 is unusual too and has a double “Y frame” chassis derived from a Lotus Esprit. The 2.8L V6 PRV ZMJ-159 engine is a Volvo/Peugeot/Renault engine. Contemporary car testers found the car slow and overpriced compared with competitors in the same price bracket.

The car benefited from extensive aerodynamic testing to improve downforce. The addition of the various wings gave the car a distinctive and functional appearance.

The Metro 6R4 was built to comply with the international Group B silhouette regulations for rally cars in the 1980s and is fitted with a purpose built V6 four overhead cam 24 valve engine. This is mounted behind the seats and drives all four wheels via a five speed gearbox and a Ferguson Formula viscous coupling epicyclic central differential, giving a 35/65% torque split. At the time, the four wheel drive system was by far more advanced than the rudimentary system used in the contemporary Audi. In full Group B spec the engine produced 410bhp, enough to get to 60mph in 3.2 seconds.

The 6R4 project was first revealed in Feb 1984 and scored its first rallying victory at the Gwynedd Rally of March 1985 with Tony Pond and Rob Arthur. The same car competed at the Lombard RAC Rally in November of the same year finishing third behind two Lancia Delta S4s. The car was officially still being developed so these were very respectable results.

Group B Banned After Fatal Crashes

Tragically Group B was banned half way through the 1986 season due to deaths and injuries in the Portuguese rally. In 1987 the format was changed to restrict engine power to 300bhp and limit the use of exotic materials.

The Metro 6R4 was essentially obsolete. As a Group B rally car it wasn’t able to compete and the 200 road going versions (built to allow the 6R4 entry to Group B) were sat unsold at a compound in Cowley.

Austin Rover deliberated with authorities to allow the 6R4 to be used on national rallies. While they eventually succeeded, one condition was to limit power to no more than 300bhp. This became the “Clubman 300” spec car.

Austin Rover managed to sell all 200 cars in less than a year, although many were bought at a significant discount.

“I know it’s an ugly beast, but the 6R4 is easily the best rally car I’ve ever driven. Enormous power with four-wheel-drive traction was a brilliant combination, but the transmission also brought other advantages in grip, stability and braking. Aerodynamics performance, too, was an area where the car was a pioneer, as other manufacturers had always believed rallying speeds weren’t high enough for wings to work”

Tony Pond – Professional Rally Driver

Austin Rover’s Group B Supercar Arrives Too Late

The Metro 6R4 was a very good idea in principal.

1. Deliver a worthy rally car to generate the same excitement as it’s predecessor the Mini Cooper.
2. Attain international coverage for success across the various Group B events.
3. Sell the homologated road cars and hopefully some of this exposure would help sales of the ordinary Metro.

Unfortunately, the car arrived at the very end of Group B. Had Group B gone on, it’s impossible to say whether the Metro 6R4 would have done well. It had an issue with turbo lag, which the other teams in Group B had already worked around.

The Jaguar Engine Connection

The engine was thought to be one of the first purpose designed for a rally car (most engines were heavily developed road car engines). This engine was then used in the Jaguar XJ220 Supercar, where it was twin turbocharged – the infamous test bed was this XJ220 engined Transit.

The Jaguar XJ220 had a similarly difficult launch. The British car industry must have thought this market was cursed – for a time at least.

More interesting information on the Metro 6R4 can be found on 6R4.net

Jaguar entered an all-new car into the Group C Le Mans race in 1988. This car was the XJR9 LM. The distinctive purple and white colour and faired in rear arches hid a powerful and efficient racing car. The aerodynamic bodywork, lightweight design and normally aspirated 7L V12 (Based on the XJS V12) gave the car an astonishing turn of speed. Jaguars main rival at Le Mans was Porsche, with their powerful 962C. TWR boss Tom Walkinshaw had promised Jaguar a win at Le Mans, so there was huge pressure to succeed.

Jaguar vs Porsche

The Jaguar was well ahead of its time in both design and construction. The car had a carbon fibre monocoque chassis, the Porsche 962C had folded aluminium. A key feature of the Jaguar is the aerodynamics. Along with the faired in rear wheels, the car had another groundbreaking feature. The short, cut off design was unlike any other car at Le Mans, other cars had a long tail design designed to keep down force levels up without generating drag. Porsche had numerous stability problems with their notorious 917 “Short Tail” racecar and the newer 962C had a standard long tail in stark contrast to the abrupt form of the XJR9.

Porsche kept the long tail design after drivers complained of the old 917’s tendency to lose grip through lack of downforce at very high speeds. Some drivers deliberately over revved the engine of the 917 to force the car out of the race; such was its dangerous nature.

The Jaguar design used a cut off rear and low mounted aerofoil to allow the downforce and ground effects of the rear venturi system to act together.

The V12 started as the 5.3L V12 from the XJS. Rebored to 7L the V12 produced about 700bhp giving the car a top speed of 246mph.

“In a straight line it (Jaguar XJR9) makes modern Le Mans cars seem very tame indeed”

Andy Wallace – Jaguar works driver

The Rival Porsche 962C

The main rival of this Jaguar was the Porsche 962C, with a turbocharged flat six had over 800bhp, trumping the Jaguars 700bhp. Porsche increased the boost for qualifying enabling them to start in better positions than Jaguar. Once the race started and the Porsche cars had boost turned down, the Jaguars began to overtake.

The Porsche 962C was the closest rival the XJR9 had, but due to the turbocharged engine, used more fuel, so the race was even, with the cars overtaking one another constantly. The Jaguars superior down-force allowed quicker entry and exit speeds through a corner but slowed the car on the straights. The 962C was the opposite, meaning the cars were close throughout the race.

Victory for the Jaguar XJR9

Jaguars stunning victory ended a 7 year reign for Porsche at Le Mans, an incredible achievement that justified the evolution of the XJR series of racing cars.

Jaguar was also successful in sports car racing in 1988 taking the World Championship with wins in 6 out of 10 Group C races. The Le Mans victory was repeated in 1990 with the XJR-12 which came first and second. Another world championship went to Jaguar in 1991 with a second place finish at Le Mans. In 1993 an XJ220C also won the GT class at Le Mans, the most recent of Jaguar’s success at the Sarthe circuit.

Jaguar XJR9 From Race Car To Road Car

Tom Walkinshaw later used the carbon tub and chassis of the XJR9 as the basis of the XJ15 Road car. This used a new bodyshell, again made from Carbon fibre and featured a detuned version of the race V12.