Technically speaking this is not my car, as I will explain in due course. I do, however, feel comfortable with counting it as part of my fleet. That may surprise some people who know me because Eastern Bloc cars have always been a big part of my hobby and the flamboyant Metropolitan could not be more different from the idea of utility or austerity motoring, but my interests have always extended beyond just that narrow focus. Until recently, for example, I had a 1965 Ford Mustang, and previous toys have included a 1961 Cadillac Deville and a 1968 air-cooled VW camper. More recently during lockdown I bought a lovely Austin Metro, so for me the hobby has always existed quite actively outside the eastern stuff.
The Metropolitan had never really been on my radar, though. This one came about because the first year my partner Ann and I were together, we visited the classic car show at the NEC in 2016. I was busy admiring cars like the 2CVs and the Trabants, while Ann was dutifully tagging along and probably wondering what she had got herself into. Then we turned a corner and came across the Metropolitan Club stand. She just went: 'Wow!' Ann is quite impulsive; she doesn't take a long time to make a decision, but instead
