RE: Group Therapy
Discussion
rubystone said:Here y'are....
The Metro 6R4 was not quite at the peak of it's developement. The car later went on to win the European Rallycross championship.
Yes, but didn't Gollop turbocharge it though?..Not the direction the car would have headed in as a factory effort
www.6r4.info/6R4_history.htm
"Later on in the Metro 6R4’s rallycross career, several owners resorted to turbocharging the V64V engine, quoting power figures of up to 700bhp! The most successful was certainly Will Gollop, getting Austin Rover Motorsport engine builder Cliff Humphries to build a 2.3 litre bi-turbo engine which eventually netted him the coveted European Rallycross Championship in 1992"
After Group B ended, I vaguely remember some story of an outfit selling 6R4's for a ridiculously low price. They were either converted for street use or they could have been converted by the owner--I don't remember exactly. I believe the price was something like 12000 pounds, IIRC. Anyone remember more details?
Miguel
Miguel
Juha Kankkunen has said many times that the Group B was crazy and demanded a lot of skill to drive. He usually describes that era as the "Golden Era of Rallying". It was never the same again. With Group B's you needed to brake when going uphill also. Also the jumping in Finland was hard because if you went flat out, you'd have jumped to trees.
BTW, someone once said that modern WRC's are as fast aroung special stages, because of good brakes, suspension and modern engines.
BTW, someone once said that modern WRC's are as fast aroung special stages, because of good brakes, suspension and modern engines.
PetrolTed said:I used to go to Lydden and Brands to watch Schance (s?) in his RS200 battling with Gollop, Biggerstaff and Carnegie. Richard Hutton, the Essex driver, was one to watch. He was rubbing the tail of other cars for a whole lap of Lydden.
I saw a lot of them when they moved into Rallycross in the late 80's. Fabulous to see them flying around Lydden.
We've just sold our 6R4, but it was a great competition car. On the road it was a nightmare, the dog-box needed real determination to get through the gears and I had to virtually stop moving if it didn't engage before I could have another go!!!
PekkaR said:
BTW, someone once said that modern WRC's are as fast aroung special stages, because of good brakes, suspension and modern engines.
Modern WRC cars run on tighter stages to keep average speeds down. On those tight stages they're probably as quick as a Group B car would be, but on the open stages of 20 years ago a Group B car would destroy a 2005 WRC car.
Slightly off topic I know ... but seeing as how so many of you used to frequent Lydden I just thought I'd see if anyone remembers Dimi Mavropolous (sp?) and his remarkable antics. I once remember him rolling his Mk2 Escort (black with Castrol colours) up the bank, stopping on it's side next to the St Johns Ambulance, rolling back down again and carrying on racing without missing a beat ... and he still qualified for the final! That and his pit pastime of throwing grapefruit off the top of his motorhome to anyone that wanted one ... I think his family run a greengrocers IIRC.
Great days!
Great days!
chim666 said:
....I just thought I'd see if anyone remembers Dimi Mavropolous (sp?) and his remarkable antics.
Yup!
I might be greatly mistaken, but didn't he once have a Rallycross Esprit?!I know in the later years, he had a Quattro.
Don't know about the Esprit (that must have been truely bonkers!) but I know he moved on from the Escort to the Quattro.
mutt said:
Slightly off topic I know ... but seeing as how so many of you used to frequent Lydden I just thought I'd see if anyone remembers Dimi Mavropolous (sp?) and his remarkable antics. I once remember him rolling his Mk2 Escort (black with Castrol colours) up the bank, stopping on it's side next to the St Johns Ambulance, rolling back down again and carrying on racing without missing a beat ... and he still qualified for the final! That and his pit pastime of throwing grapefruit off the top of his motorhome to anyone that wanted one ... I think his family run a greengrocers IIRC.
Great days!
hardly a greegrocer...he owns (owned?) Pearl of Cyprus - one of the largest fruit importers in the UK. He had a lot of success rallycrossing a Quattro A1 and then S1 - to my knowledge he was the only privateer to tease an S1 out of Audi and that car was awesome, although he told me that acquiring spares was nigh on impossible. As a matter of interest, his S1 was acquired and restored back to HB colours and is often seen at the likes of GFoS. Last I heard, Dimi was winning stage rallies in Cyprus. Characters like Dimi, Schanche, Tony Proctor, Des Winks and that man who favoured cream Gucci loafers as paddock wear (really!) - Rob Gibson, made Rallycross in the '80s a fabulous sport to watch and be part of
Andrew Noakes said:The 6R4 used to only suffer against ex-WRC cars because of the active diffs and effective anti-lag systems.
BTW, someone once said that modern WRC's are as fast aroung special stages, because of good brakes, suspension and modern engines.
Modern WRC cars run on tighter stages to keep average speeds down. On those tight stages they're probably as quick as a Group B car would be, but on the open stages of 20 years ago a Group B car would destroy a 2005 WRC car.
There were plenty of group B cars at the Castle Coombe Rallyday on Saturday. I've put a few pics up online if anyone's interested.
LexSport said:Pity that the organisers didn't build some sort of lose-surface track, maybe event cone-off some corners (like Quarry) to get the cars onto the infield for a bit of Rallycross.
There were plenty of group B cars at the Castle Coombe Rallyday on Saturday. I've put a few pics up online if anyone's interested.
Having the temporary chicane near Folly was less than pointless - there were very few drivers who could get through without almost stopping!
I left mid afternoon, a waste of £12 IMO.
Someone - Gollop? - developed a new body for the 6R4:
a chap called Tim Painter hillclimbs - or did - one in 'Tipadel' colours.
Not only is it quick it also actually looks good, too, with none of the shoebox-with-wings effect of the original.
If I was clever I'd be able to find a pic.
a chap called Tim Painter hillclimbs - or did - one in 'Tipadel' colours.
Not only is it quick it also actually looks good, too, with none of the shoebox-with-wings effect of the original.
If I was clever I'd be able to find a pic.
I was also at Haigh Hall RAC rally stage in the 80s and remember the awesome sound and sight of the Metro's in the woods.
It killed it for me when they banned GrpB you tell kids these days they wont believe how powerfull the cars were, absolute cream crackers.
It was bound to happen though with all the dickheads on the stages.
Dont despair though you can still see 6R4 Metros on the national scene and in club rallying. Had a fantastic day out last month 23rd July New Brighton Promenade Stages rally organised by Wallasey Motor Club, there was at least 3 Metro 6R4's and an ex Solberg 2004 WRC impreza all on closed public roads.
The result -Metros 1-2-3 2004 impreza 4th. Says it all. Go next year and have a blast. There is also a sprint the next day (Sunday) on the same course and some of the rally cars stay for that. Excellent events.
It killed it for me when they banned GrpB you tell kids these days they wont believe how powerfull the cars were, absolute cream crackers.
It was bound to happen though with all the dickheads on the stages.
Dont despair though you can still see 6R4 Metros on the national scene and in club rallying. Had a fantastic day out last month 23rd July New Brighton Promenade Stages rally organised by Wallasey Motor Club, there was at least 3 Metro 6R4's and an ex Solberg 2004 WRC impreza all on closed public roads.
The result -Metros 1-2-3 2004 impreza 4th. Says it all. Go next year and have a blast. There is also a sprint the next day (Sunday) on the same course and some of the rally cars stay for that. Excellent events.
as this has become a 6R4 memorial thread I wonder if anyone remembers Dave Abbleby's 6R4 which used to run in the Special GT championship at Castle Combe in the early 90s. It looked hilarious alongside all these sleek GT cars like the Sports 2000s etc but they soon stopped laughing when Abbleby was halfway round Quarry as they were still on Avon Rise!!!!
Nick_F said:
Someone - Gollop? - developed a new body for the 6R4:
I think that was the Appleby car. He put a 'new' shape Metro body on when the Metro was facelifted to take K-Series engines - the one that eventually was renamed the Rover 100.
I loved the 6R4, despite my preference for quattros. I think the article has an inaccuracy in it though - the engine wasn't based on a cut-down Rover V8, but was based on the Cosworth GA if I remember rightly. Both of which were notable for rotating the wrong way.
In fact, I loved all the Group B cars, even the ugly as sin Citroen BX. A really magical era. Somehow I just can't get excited by a Peugeot 307 Cabrio rally car...
Rallycross in the '80s and early '90s was just incredible, too. I remember watching it on TV as a youngster, then went to the 1988 British Rallycross GP at Brands. I'd seen the Group B cars rallying, but to see them with 750bhp and actually racing each other was just amazing - there was even a BMW M3 with Xtrac 4wd and at least 700bhp in the final (Alrid Martinsen, I think he was called). Went to Lydden the year after in the Summer and watching them off the line was mind-blowing; the acceleration beggared belief.
Great days.
LexSport said:
There were plenty of group B cars at the Castle Coombe Rallyday on Saturday. I've put a few pics up online if anyone's interested.
Great images from Combe - that's me co-driving (ok, having a ride in) the Ex Frequelin/Todt (later on Blomqvist/Cederberg) Sunbeam Lotus, the descision to put it onto 10 inch inters while the sun was still out was inspired !
As for watching the Group B stuff was anyone else here at Badminton Park in '86 ? I've still got the Rally Pack somewhere !
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