Once-ridiculed MG Metro set to defy the doubters as it is slapped with £120,000 price tag for auction
Souped-up version of the British Leyland motor once competed in the World Rally Championship
A ONCE-ridiculed British car is having the last laugh – with one motor set to be sold for £120,000.
The MG Metro was defunct British manufacturer British Leyland’s answer to the Ford Fiesta.
But it never captured the public imagination in the same way the iconic Fiesta did and was pulled from production after 17 years in 1997.
Yet one souped-up model of the car was so speedy it even became a surprise inclusion in the World Rally Championship.
And with only 205 ever made, one of the few remaining 6R4 motors is set to earn its owner a tidy profit.
Tim Schofield, auto specialist at auctioneers Bonhams, who are selling the car, said: "In the day the 6R4 was slated as too dangerous.
"The sheer speed of them resulted in lots of accidents - the acceleration is astonishing. Within the last year or two there has been a renewed interest in hot hatches.
"People who didn't have the money for one when they came out are now in their forties or fifties so can afford it.
"They have fond memories of the 6R4 lighting up the rally tracks in the 1980s and 1990s.
"It could very well sell to a racer as it's in good enough condition to compete.
"The skill required to drive one of these things fast is something to behold."
The 400 BHP model, which rolled off the production line between 1984 and 1987, could reach 60mph in just 3.2 seconds and 100mph in 8.2 seconds using its 3-litre V6 engines.
It will be sold at Bonhams' Goodwood Revival sale on September 10.
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