Austin Rover (MG Metro 6R4)
Austin Rover took a strikingly different path from everyone else: no turbo, but a three-litre naturally aspirated V6 behind the seats of a Metro. The team was led by former co-driver and journalist John Davenport.
Team profile
Episode 5 — The British Challengers: MG Metro 6R4 & Ford RS200
The Metro 6R4 and the Austin Rover team.
The car
As director of motorsport, John Davenport led the 6R4 programme from development to homologation. Development was contracted out to Williams Grand Prix Engineering. David Wood’s V6 engine (V64V) drew on elements of the architecture of the Cosworth DFV Formula 1 engine. See MG Metro 6R4.
Results
On its debut on the 1985 RAC Rally, Tony Pond finished third straight away, behind the two Lancia Delta S4s. In 1986, reliability and power fell short against the turbo cars. Austin Rover withdrew at the end of 1986. In 1987 all the parts and engines were sold to Tom Walkinshaw Racing, and the V6 reappeared, turbocharged, in the Jaguar XJ220.
Outside the World Championship the 6R4 was popular with privateers. In the 1986 German championship, Armin Schwarz finished second in a 6R4 behind Michèle Mouton on the final round. Privateers kept the car in national championships for years.
We could not confirm the exact location of the Austin Rover rally team’s workshop (often given as Cowley, Oxford) in a reliable source. Malcolm Wilson as a works driver in 1986 is widely reported, but was not checked against the sources consulted here.
British, naturally aspirated and idiosyncratic: John Davenport had Williams Grand Prix Engineering develop a rally car based on the Metro. Third on its debut.
European and national championships
Didier Auriol won the 1986 French championship in a Metro 6R4, and Tony Pond won the Manx Rally that year. See the French and British championship pages.
In pictures 1 photos
Further resources
- 6R4.net: Williams and the 6R4 EN · archive
The Williams Grand Prix Engineering side of the 6R4 project. - evo: Birth of an icon — MG Metro 6R4 EN · article
How Austin Rover and Williams created the 6R4. - Motor Sport (1985): ARG's rally weapon EN · article · subscription
Period preview of Austin Rover's 6R4 before its debut. - 6R4.net EN · community
Enthusiast site and community dedicated to the MG Metro 6R4, with detailed history pages.
More from Teams
Sources
- Wikipedia (EN), MG Metro 6R4 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MG_Metro_6R4
- Snowman Rally, John Davenport Interview — https://www.snowmanrally.co.uk/john-davenport-interview
- Motor Sport Magazine, Muck & Bullets (November 2000) — https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/archive/article/november-2000/58/muck-bullets/
All text is original writing for Grouve Sports Management Group, based on the sources above. Facts checked on 21 October 2026.
Follow Grouve Sport on YouTube — rally Shorts now, Group B documentaries soon.
SubscribeThumbnail photos on this page: Alf van Beem (Wikimedia Commons, Public domain); estoril (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0); Bahnfrend (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0); MrWalkr (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0); Neil (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0); KKPCW（Kyu3） (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0).