Future Classics

AUSTIN METRO

Description

First introduced in 1980 as an intended replacement for the Mini. Production ran until 1997 under the Austin name and then Rover before finally being called the 100 series.
Sporty versions went under the banner of MG and included a turbo version which produced 93bhp and is now by far the most collectable of all the Metro's.

Headline stats

Maximum # of Registrations = 666760
Latest # of Registrations = 448

Links

[Buyers Guide] Surely the most expensive Metro ever 

Our Verdict

From the legend that was British Leyland (cough)
You have to be knocking on a few years to remember the launch of the Austin Metro in 1980, and sadly I can remember it. Leyland, who were at the time the conglomerate covering some of the great British car names from yesteryear like Jaguar (yes Jaguar), Land Rover, Triumph and Austin, decided they needed a city car to rival all those pesky foreigners flooding the British market with their fancy offerings. And so was born the Metro which was first presented to use a top the white cliffs of Dover, busy sending those foreign imports back to whence they came from (no doubt Farage would have been the first to buy one) So exactly how did Leyland choose to weaponize their plucky little Brit to take on the might of the French, Italians and Japanese, by fitting it with an A series engine (designed in the 50's) and a 4speed gearbox (also designed in the 50's), of course!

Actually, the Metro wasn't at all a bad car for the times, though it has since suffered from a greater decline in appeal than say the Ford Fiesta, especially in their sport guises. The original XR2 for instance is now very desirable where as the MG Metro is only moderately so, which is surprising given their rarity value with only 135 left (see MG Metro).

So given the Metro's rather dowdy image it might be a surprise to discovery that one was up for sale recently on eBay (June 2016) for an eye popping £18k, and you did read that right. To be fair it was a turbo version which there are only 20 left on the roads, and it only had 7k miles on the clock, so it just goes to show that where there's muck, there's brass, especially if it has a turbo sticker on its side!

A good source of info on all things to do with Metro's can be found on the site below

www.metropower.org.uk

Prices:
A good condition turbo example with sensible miles should be about £8.5k
A simular MG non turbo would be about £4k
June 2016

Future Classics Rating

85%
Source: eBay

Details of Derivatives

Total 36 items.
NameCalculated RatingMax RegLatest Reg
METRO 3107541
METRO L 31081112
METRO HLS AUTO94382
METRO S AUTO96321
METRO CITY 31098551
METRO9947619
METRO 1.39914481
METRO 1.3 MORITZ9912011
METRO ARX9913993
METRO AUTO992279126
METRO CITY9912711798
METRO CITY AUTO9916155
METRO CITY X999476047
METRO GS99424611
METRO GS AUTO996522
METRO GTA99310612
METRO HL996651
METRO HLE993432021
METRO HLS9943023
METRO JET BLACK9913251
METRO JET BLACK AUTO991291
METRO L9912242570
METRO L AUTO99203412
METRO L GALA9915241
METRO LE9918721
METRO MAYFAIR99123866
METRO MOSAIC9928178
METRO PRINCIPLES9921792
METRO RED HOT9913961
METRO RED HOT AUTO991321
METRO S9979087
METRO SPORT9925641
METRO STUDIO 29964953
METRO V/PLAS991510223
METRO V/PLAS AUTO99626111
METRO VP 500993261