The International career of the MG Metro 6R4 was a short one, but not as a results of the car being a failure. In fact it was the cars success and other rally cars like it that led to it being banned from World Championship Rallying. It is only now being recognised as one of the 'classic' Group B rally cars of the mid eighties, and it is also taking it's rightful place as a genuine part of MG history.
Back in 1985 the Lancia Delta S4s dominated the RAC Rally, taking first and second overall, other cars that should have been contenders to finish in the top three were the Peugeot 205 T16's and the AudiSport Quattro's, but it was a British car in third place, and it was the MG Metro 6R4, driven by Tony Pond and Rob Arthur.
The other works Metro driven by Malcolm Wilson failed to finish, with various problems, which could not be repaired, these being a front differential failure, a dodgy gearbox and the power steering also gave some trouble. The car had in fact come a long way from its early development, after starting life as a 2WD car, powered only with a 1500cc engine. After the success of the 1985 RAC Rally, Austin Rover opted to compete in a limited number of events in the World Rally Championship of 1986, with the intention of making a bigger effort in 1987.
But after a series of tragic accidents, the governing body of the sport, FISA, took measures to halt any further chance of more fatal accidents, which were attributed to the speed of the cars, and Group B Rally cars were banned as of 1 January 1987. So as the little car's career came to an abrupt end in the International arena, it was just beginning it life in the UK's rally scene.