MY FEEDLY

The Rare MG Metro 6R4 – Britain’s Hairy-Chested Group B Challenger

The MG Metro 6R4 is one of the unsung hairy-chested heroes of the legendary Group B rally era. It was co-developed by the Williams Formula 1 team and unlike its Group B turbocharged rivals, the 6R4 was fitted with a naturally-aspirated V6 capable of over 400 hp sending power to all four wheels – the name “6R4” stands for “6-cylinder, Rear-engine, 4-wheel drive.”

The engine that was developed for the MG Metro 6R4 is fascinating, it essentially started out as the Buick 215 cu. in. V8 first released in 1961 before later becoming the Rover V8 which was then vastly modified into a DOHC V6 for the 6R4, this engine would then (in further modified form) end up powering the Jaguar XJ220 supercar released in 1992.

Say what you want about the Brits, but they know how to keep engines in production longer than just about anyone.

Creating The MG Metro 6R4

The project to develop the MG Metro 6R4 started in the early 1980s. The goal was to achieve international rallying success and help elevate the somewhat sullied reputation of British cars due to the missteps of the 1970s and 1980s.

Above Image: The 6R4 shared little with the road-going MG Metro, but the visual similarity was carefully maintained.

MG parent company Austin Rover was a sponsor of the Williams Formula 1 Team at the time, and so Williams boffins were brought in to work on the car’s development. The plan was to base the car (somewhat loosely) on the MG Metro hatchback in order to boost sales of the little British commuter car.

The final 6R4 would share very little in common with the Metro, just a couple of panels really, as it had an all new spaceframe chassis, a rear-mid mounted engine, a unique all-wheel drive system, and custom fiberglass bodywork.

The development the engine began with a 3.5 litre Rover V8 that had two of its cylinders lopped off. It was developed into a double overhead cam per bank V6 with four-valves per cylinder capable of 410 hp in racing trim.

The final engine that was used in the production vehicle shared no parts in common with the Rover V8, and it made use of a number of parts from the all-conquering Cosworth DFV Formula 1 engine.

Both a racing version and a road-legal homologation version of the MG Metro 6R4 would be built, once 200 had left the factory the homogation requirements had been met, and the 6R4 could enter Group B competition.

Above Image: The rear-mid mounted Austin Rover V64V engine.

The first race for the car was the Lombard RAC Rally in November 1985, works driver Tony Pond finished in third place behind a couple of Lancia Delta S4s. This was a remarkable first attempt for the car and it clearly showed its promise. Unfortunately due to lack of engine development time reliability proved to be a major factor, resulting in a number of retirements.

Group B rally was banned in 1986 due to a series of fatal crashes, and the MG Metro 6R4 became a car without a series to compete in. This wouldn’t be the end of the plucky little hatchback though, David Llewellin drove one to win the Circuit of Ireland Rally in 1986, and Didier Auriol claimed victory in the French Rally Championship that same year driving the car you see pictured here.

Rallycross icon Will Gollop drove his heavily modified 700+ bhp 6R4 to a slew of international victories and claimed multiple titles with it – a fitting end to the career of one of MG’s most unusual race cars.

The Championship-Winning 1985 MG Metro 6R4 Shown Here

The car you see here was piloted to victory in the French Rally Championship in 1986 by Didier Auriol – a man who would become one of France’s most celebrated rally drivers.

Above Image: This car was converted to left-hand drive however it maintains its right-hand drive dashboard.

Auriol had started out as an ambulance driver before becoming a rally driver, over the course of his World Rally Championship career he would claim 20 wins and the 1994 WRC title.

Thanks to its rarity, its competition history, and its Auriol link this MG Metro 6R4 is likely attract a lot of attention when it rolls across the auction block with Artcurial on the 5th of February.

The price estimate is €280,000 to €360,000 and you can click here if you’d like to read more or register to bid.

Images courtesy of Artcurial

The post The Rare MG Metro 6R4 – Britain’s Hairy-Chested Group B Challenger appeared first on Silodrome.

from Silodrome https://silodrome.com/mg-metro-6r4/
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A Modified Mercedes-Benz Unimog 416 – The German Bigfoot

The Unimog 416 was a direct descendant of the first post-WWII Unimogs which had been developed as a vehicle that could be used as both a tractor and a car.

The first Unimogs famously had a track width identical to that of two rows of potatoes, and they had power takeoffs so farmers could operate agricultural machinery in the same way they would from a tractor.

The Mighty Unimog – A History Speedrun

In the years after WWII there was a remarkable proliferation of civilian four-wheel drives being developed and sold to the public. The American Jeep had a large influence on this phenomenon, and it was the Unimogs, Power Wagons, Land Rovers, and civilian (CJ) Jeeps that then inspired a second generation of four-wheel drives from Japan and elsewhere.

The most unusual of all of these was almost certainly the Unimog. It’s one of the most beloved four-wheel drive vehicles in the world due to its sheer size, its off-road ability, and its hard to resist quirky charm.

Perhaps the most famous feature shared by all Unimogs is their portal axles. They use a live axle front and rear which transmits power to the wheels via a portal gear in each wheel hub. This moves the axles up high and gives Unimogs their famously cavernous ground clearance, and their huge wheels and tires.

Above Image: Unimogs are famous for their high ground clearance and extraordinary off-road ability, in part thanks to their portal axles.

The Mercedes-Benz Unimog 416 was introduced in 1965 as the first long wheelbase variant of the popular Unimog 406. This longer wheelbase allowed the 416 to serve a multitude of roles from military and construction use to deployments in the service of park rangers, rural fire departments, and search and rescue operations.

Mercedes-Benz would keep the 406 family in production from 1963 until 1989, a remarkable 26 year production run. A slew of iterations and upgrades were introduced over the course of production of course, and many of them are still operational to this day.

The 1978 Mercedes-Benz Unimog 416 Shown Here

The Unimog 416 you see here is from 1978, it benefits from a series of modifications that make it ideal for both recreational or industrial use. It has a retrofitted compressed air tank which allows for the use of pneumatic tools, it can also be used with an air inflator to adjust tire pressure quickly between different terrain types.

The compressed air tank, the fuel tank, and the auxiliary fuel tank have been elevated from their original locations for better ground clearance. As with all Unimogs, this one has portal axles which raise the diffs up out of the way, it’s fitted with steel wheels and 42 inch tires, giving a genuinely impressive amount of clearance.

An intake snorkel is mounted next to the front left A-pillar, it’s 8 feet off the ground and higher than both the driver and passenger head rests – so there should be no reasonable river crossing it can’t tackle.

Above Image: This 416 has seating for two, the engine extends back into the cab (under the black cover) and there are 20 forwards gears with eight reverse.

There’s a heavy duty roll bar behind the passenger cabin, in the back there’s bench seating for six people that doubles as a lockable toolbox, and there’s a steel frame over the cargo bay for the fitment of a canvas cover.

Vehicle recovery should be relatively straight forward if it’s ever required, the vehicle is fitted with a 15,000 lb Warn winch up front and a 9,000 lb Ramsey winch in the rear. It’s powered by a 5.7 litre six-cylinder diesel engine (Type 352 – Model 353.940) with 109 hp and 231 lbs ft of torque, sending power back to a transmission with 20 forward gears and eight reverse gears.

The reason the Unimog has so many gears is because the lower gears operate in essentially the same way as a low-range gear box, and the higher gears allow higher speed road use. Although the term “higher speed” in this case is admittedly being used a little loosely.

The seller notes that the Unimog has been completely refreshed and rebuilt, with new paint and no rust or corrosion. The engine currently shows 2,451 hours and the vehicle comes with two sets of keys, and a slew of original manuals and documentation.

If you’d like to read more about it or register to bid you can click here to visit the listing on Mecum.

Images courtesy of Mecum

The post A Modified Mercedes-Benz Unimog 416 – The German Bigfoot appeared first on Silodrome.

from Silodrome https://silodrome.com/mercedes-benz-unimog-416/
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Reincarnation: A Surreal Automotive Art Series By Lou Carvell

This series of artworks by Lou Carvell is called “Reincarnation”, he developed the collection to celebrate oft forgotten design elements from some of history’s most beautiful automobiles.

Lou takes elements from cars like brake lights, gauges, vents, or hood ornaments and places them in a variety of both urban and natural environments.

The resulting art stops people in their tracks as they try to make sense of what they’re seeing, and by isolating individual parts he allows people to appreciate the fine details that make up their designs.

Like many of us, Lous has been fascinated with cars since early childhood, he would sneak down to the dealer’s showroom at night at peer through the windows at the new models.

After a successful career as a Creative Director at a number of large New York City advertising agencies Lou now enjoys a collection of 12 cars and counting, some of which he first saw for the first time as a little boy, after wiping the condensation from his breath off the car dealer’s showroom glass.

Above Image: The series takes automotive objects that people might not think twice about and turns them into otherworldly objects.

Creating each image for the Reincarnation series starts with Lou visiting far away junkyards to find tail lights, dashboards, grills and other long-forgotten parts.

“I was on a mission to save these wonderful parts from the jaws of the wrecker that would smash them to smithereens.” – Lou Carvell

Lou offers each of these creations as prints, each artwork is printed on Giclée fine art print using premium quality archival paper and inks, there are six sizes to choose from ranging from 10 x 10 inches all the way up to 60 x 60 inches.

This is only a small selection from Reincarnation, the full collection contains 35 pieces and counting, if you hit the red button below it’ll take you the official website and you’ll be able to see them all.

See The Full Collection

The post Reincarnation: A Surreal Automotive Art Series By Lou Carvell appeared first on Silodrome.

from Silodrome https://silodrome.com/reincarnation-art-lou-carvell/
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Twin-Engined 4x4 Desert Racing Prototype: Alfa Romeo Alfasud Ti...

Twin-Engined 4x4 Desert Racing Prototype: Alfa Romeo Alfasud Ti Bimotore 4×4 Wainer

from Tumblr https://somar78.tumblr.com/post/641370775805411328

An Original Ferrari 126 CK Formula 1 Wind Tunnel Model

This is believed to be an early wind tunnel development model of what would become the Ferrari 126 CK Formula 1 car, it measures in at 3.5 feet long by 1.7 feet wide, and it shows what was happening behind the scenes at Ferrari as they rapidly developed their first-ever turbocharged F1 vehicle.

The Ferrari 126 C was designed to replace the successful but outdated Ferrari 312T series. Rather than using a large flat-12 like its predecessor the new 126 CK used a turbo V6 which proved much smaller and allowed more room for ground effect aerodynamics design elements under the car.

Interestingly, Enzo Ferrari hired engineer Nicola Materazzi to work with his team in Maranello thanks to Materazzi’s experience developing the turbocharged Lancia Stratos HF race cars. This experience would prove invaluable, the car would take two wins in its maiden season however it would also suffer from frequent reliability woes.

Above Image: The model shows what appears to be a transitional aerodynamics package, developed as Ferrari raced to get the car dialed in and turn it into the World Championship winner it would become.

A solid development program of which this model was a part, would show the car’s true promise. Future versions of the Ferrari 126C would win the Formula 1 Constructors’ Championship in both 1982 and 1983, and finish second in 1984.

The model is made from carbon fibre, wood, and metal. It’s been reasonably well preserved although there are some signs of age. The cockpit is surprisingly detailed and the car uses a transitional front wing design that looks a lot more like the front wing on the later cars than the earlier models.

The car is currently part of Giuseppe Neri’s private collection, he was a long time friend of Enzo Ferrari and as a result his collection is overflowing with interesting bits of Ferrari history.

If you’d like to read more about it or register to bid you can click here to visit the listing on Artcurial. It’s due to cross the auction block on the 6th of February and the price estimate is €12,000 to €16,000.