MG METRO 6R4

1984: mid-mounted, normally aspirated 2991cc V6, four-wheel drive, 155mph

Patrick Head turned the lacklustre, uglyduckling successor to the Mini into a British rally icon. This superb 6R4 is owned and rallied by father-and-son Warren and Gary Philliskirk. “The car was converted to rally specification by John Price in about 1990,” says Warren. “We’ve competed in rallies all over the UK in it, and we won the BTRDA championship with this car in 1997.”

The 6R4 was created in ’85, pretty much out of thin air, with Williams Grand Prix Engineering doing much of the development work. The car featured a bespoke quadcam, 24-valve V6 mounted amidships. Ferguson four-wheel-drive technology completed a rugged drivetrain, fitted into a semi-monocoque, seam-welded tubular chassis. Cooling came from radiators mounted in the engine compartment, ducted from just in front of the rear wheelarches and giving the 6R4 its boxy appearance.

There were some Metro body panels beneath that high-winged, fat-arched GRP and aluminium skin, and two models were produced: the 250bhp Clubman, and the full International Rally spec with c400bhp.

Tony Pond took a works 6R4 to third on the 1985 RAC, but reliability issues ensured that major successes proved elusive.

“IT WAS CONVERTED TO RALLY SPEC IN 1990, AND WE’VE COMPETED ALL OVER THE UK”