MG has paid tribute to its most iconic rally car, the Metro 6R4 built under British ownership in the 1980s, with a concept based on its new Chinese-made electric hatchback.
Chinese-owned British car maker MG has turned the MG 4 electric car into a modern reboot of one of its most iconic racing cars for the Goodwood Festival of Speed hill-climb in the UK.
The MG EX4 concept wears hardcore race-ready bodywork as a nod to the MG Metro 6R4 rally car, one of the company’s best-known racing cars which competed in the Group B rally series in the 1980s.
While the original Metro 6R4 was powered by a six-cylinder engine, the EX4 is based on the electric MG 4 hatchback – which has just spawned a new XPower hot-hatch version.
It uses dual electric motors developing 320kW and 600Nm, with all-wheel drive and a claimed 0-100km/h acceleration time of 3.8 seconds.
The show car is finished in a unique white, black and green livery claimed to “[celebrate] the 40th anniversary of the legendary Metro 6R4.”
There are no announced plans for a production version, though the showroom MG 4 XPower – without the wild body kit – is expected to arrive in Australian showrooms by the end of this year.
The MG EX4 will be displayed at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in the UK this weekend, including demonstration runs up the famed ‘hill-climb’ course.
