RE: The Metro 6R4 story: Time For Tea?

[Brummmie]

A mate of mine had one as a "Sunday" car, I went out in it a couple of times for a pint, you had to use the intercom to talk to each other it was sooo loud, engine and box gnashing away, it was ludicrously low geared, flat stick was 110mph, he later fitted some higher ratio transfer box gears, it broke down a lot!!!! Mad car though

[The Vambo]

[smilo996]

I heard that the original prototype engine was the Rover V8 and they actually took a welding torch to the head and shaved off 2 cylinders to see if it would work.

Imagine putting this in the Jag Xj200, no wonder owners were less than pleased. Seemed to be powerful enought though.

Great shed based interviews.

[aeropilot]

smilo996 said:

Imagine putting this in the Jag Xj200, no wonder owners were less than pleased.

Only those that have have no technical understanding and those that believe in cylinder count snobbery.

The V6R4 engine in its n/a form and in turbo form in the Jag XJ220 was, and even 30 years later still is a superb engine.

[The Vambo]

smilo996 said:

I heard that the original prototype engine was the Rover V8 and they actually took a welding torch to the head and shaved off 2 cylinders to see if it would work.

Imagine putting this in the Jag Xj200, no wonder owners were less than pleased. Seemed to be powerful enought though.

Great shed based interviews.

The 6R4 development mule had a RV8 minus 2 cylinders purely for testing purposes in much the same way as the F1 test mule was an Ultima, that doesn't in any way make a mcLaren F1 an Ultima.

The 6R4 engine was a clean sheet engine designed specifically for motorsport.


An XJ220 with a race engine or a modified 20 year old boat anchor engine?

The moaners are idiots.

[Fire99]

In many ways the finest era of rallying for me.. Obviously the tragic spectator deaths put a dampener on that time.

I agree with those that say the issue wasn't Group B. It was piloting a car along a narrow path between two lines of spectators, that was the issue..

The 6R4 was a brilliant achievement by Austin Rover...

[Willy Nilly]

The Vambo said:

[Brummmie]

The Vambo said:

And what's wrong with going for a pint of the local foaming fox P1ss in a group B rally car..?

[The Vambo]

Brummmie said:

The Vambo said:

And what's wrong with going for a pint of the local foaming fox P1ss in a group B rally car..?

Nothing, it was a genuinely good story, no offence meant it's just that you posted it 3 times Ggggranville.

[Brummmie]

The Vambo said:

Brummmie said:

The Vambo said:

And what's wrong with going for a pint of the local foaming fox P1ss in a group B rally car..?

Nothing, it was a genuinely good story, no offence meant it's just that you posted it 3 times Ggggranville.

No offence taken posting from a smart phone does that sometimes I think!!?? Now my mate in his Mclaren on the other hand.....

[TwigtheWonderkid]

Brummmie said:

A mate of mine had one as a "Sunday" car, I went out in it a couple of times for a pint, you had to use the intercom to talk to each other it was sooo loud, engine and box gnashing away, it was ludicrously low geared, flat stick was 110mph, he later fitted some higher ratio transfer box gears, it broke down a lot!!!! Mad car though

One of my client's had one as a private car. I won't give his name but his initials were L.D. Wonder if it's the same guy. Can't be many people who had one purely as a private car.

[k-ink]

sideways man said:

Why did they ban group B? All they had to do was move the spectators back to a safer place. Easy.

So the governing body could divert the blame away from their own shocking lack of safety organisation and onto the cars instead. Besides, as the drivers had already refused to drive in the appalling conditions there was no rally left to ban anyway. All in all the organisers we just watching their own backs and pointing fingers elsewhere.

[Gary C]

aeropilot said:

smilo996 said:

Imagine putting this in the Jag Xj200, no wonder owners were less than pleased.

Only those that have have no technical understanding and those that believe in cylinder count snobbery.

The V6R4 engine in its n/a form and in turbo form in the Jag XJ220 was, and even 30 years later still is a superb engine.

But remember the xj220 was meant to be a v12. A friend has driven one of the two made by twr and loved it, but a fully developed v64v would be hard to beat.

[aeropilot]

Gary C said:

aeropilot said:

smilo996 said:

Imagine putting this in the Jag Xj200, no wonder owners were less than pleased.

Only those that have have no technical understanding and those that believe in cylinder count snobbery.

The V6R4 engine in its n/a form and in turbo form in the Jag XJ220 was, and even 30 years later still is a superb engine.

But remember the xj220 was meant to be a v12.

Which wouldn't meet the required emissions regs at the time, and made the car too long and too heavy, not to mention, that the rules had changed in sports car racing by then forcing Jaguar to dump the V12's in the racing cars and use the 6R4 engine, so it was entirely logical for the 220 to follow suit.
The car got the right engine, it just came out at the wrong time.

[Gary C]

aeropilot said:

Gary C said:

aeropilot said:

smilo996 said:

Imagine putting this in the Jag Xj200, no wonder owners were less than pleased.

Only those that have have no technical understanding and those that believe in cylinder count snobbery.

The V6R4 engine in its n/a form and in turbo form in the Jag XJ220 was, and even 30 years later still is a superb engine.

But remember the xj220 was meant to be a v12.

Which wouldn't meet the required emissions regs at the time, and made the car too long and too heavy, not to mention, that the rules had changed in sports car racing by then forcing Jaguar to dump the V12's in the racing cars and use the 6R4 engine, so it was entirely logical for the 220 to follow suit.
The car got the right engine, it just came out at the wrong time.

Wasn't arguing against you !

The v12 models were apparently magnificent to drive, a fully sorted v64v would have been brilliant. Shorter and lighter.

The beurocrats at rover had a lot to answer for, the second dyno fkup a case in point.

[leedsutd1]

Gary C said:

Just found this article http://www.evo.co.uk/features/features/260041/birt...

I was there for the 1985 rac when it came third.

Edited by Gary C on Saturday 19th July 19:27

yes I was at chatsworth house in 85 and watched the start of the national breakdown from Bradford, there was
a white RS200 press car parked up , first one I had seen in flesh

[pozi]

I have great memories of the Rallycross GP that used to be held at Branshatch in the late 80's and seeing grids full of 6R4's and RS200 after they were banned from Group B.

In fact Rob Gibson still uses his 6R4 in the current Retro Rallycross series which accompanies the British Rallycross rounds.

[Felix7]

https://www.facebook.com/SpeedChills/photos/a.7797... at the Hotel de France in La Chartre-sur-le-Loir, went around the town for a few laps and certainly rattled the windows...

Edited by Felix7 on Monday 21st July 12:55

[Countersteer]

Wasn't the 6R4 engine used with a couple of turbos in the XJ220? And wasn't that very V6 originally a Rover V8 with two cylinders lopped off?

[pozi]

Countersteer said:

Wasn't the 6R4 engine used with a couple of turbos in the XJ220? And wasn't that very V6 originally a Rover V8 with two cylinders lopped off?

The XJ220 has a highly modified version of the V64V engine but few parts are actually shared between the two.

However the cut down rover V8 was only used in the early 6R4 chassis mules and is nothing like the final engine which was an all new and purpose built.