It looked for all the world as though the MG name had died with the closure of Abingdon in 1980, but its demise was to be short-lived. As it was closing the Abingdon factory, British Leyland announced the new Austin Mini Metro, a car that had to succeed if the company were to survive. The plan was that eventually this would take over from the Mini and lay that to rest, but the Mini would keep going with a pruned range.
The Metro was a very smart and up-to-date hatchback, but no car is ever a brand-new design from end to end, especially one from a cash-strapped company like BL. So, under that very modern skin, the Metro had the Mini’s transverse A-Series engine with a four-speed gearbox in its sump, Mini-style subframes front and rear and a Hydragas suspension as used by the Allegro. However, it would be wrong to say that all these items were simply carried over. The engine, for example, was revised into the A-plus unit, sharing almost nothing with the original A-Series of 1951.
Available with either 998cc or 1275cc engines, the Metro was an instant hit from its launch at the 1980 Motor Show in October, and deservedly so. That encouraged the company to expand the range in May 1982, adding the luxurious Vanden Plas to the mix as well as bringing back the MG name. For the MG Metro, the 1275cc engine was massaged to produce 20 per cent more power, giving a creditable 72bhp in a car that weighted only 810kg.
There was more to come though, because in October of 1982 the Metro Turbo was added to the mix. This
