Hydrolastic is a type of space-efficient automotive suspension system used in many cars produced by British Motor Corporation (BMC) and its successor companies.
91-472: Invented by British rubber engineer Alex Moulton , and first used on the 1962 BMC project ADO16 under designer Alec Issigonis , later to be launched as the Morris 1100 . The system replaces the separate springs and dampers of a conventional suspension system with fluid filled displacer units which are interconnected between the front and rear wheels on each side of the vehicle. Each displacer unit contains
182-516: A "sporty" interior with red seat belts, red carpets and a sports-style steering wheel. Early Turbo models also benefitted from a boost pressure gauge: in pre-84 models this was an in-dash LED gauge, relocating to an LCD gauge mounted in an overhead console for early Mk. 2 facelift models (with the boost gauge subsequently being deleted from production in post-85 models). The Turbo also received alloy wheels, wheel arch extensions and front spoiler, and prominent "Turbo" branding. While it retained rear drums,
273-591: A 16-valve engine was available in the GTi (early variants are 95 bhp (71 kW) SPi while the later MPi version has 103 bhp) and the early GTa. All models used end-on gearboxes designed jointly by Rover and Peugeot . In 1992, a 1.4 PSA TUD diesel from the Citroën AX and Peugeot 106 was launched; this was the first time the Metro had been available with a diesel engine. At the same time an automatic version
364-622: A 17th-century mansion. He was a member of Brooks's gentlemen's club in London. Moulton died on 9 December 2012 at the Royal United Hospital in Bath. His funeral, which was attended by 'Moultoneers' from all over the world, took place at Holy Trinity Church, Bradford-on-Avon on 19 December, after which he was interred in the family grave at Christ Church in the same town beside his great-grandfather, Stephen Moulton, who founded
455-623: A buyer was found and the production line was sold. Cars using the Hydrolastic suspension system: Cars using the Hydragas suspension system: In 1962 Alex Moulton founded the Moulton Bicycle company to build his innovative design for small wheel bicycles . To ensure a safe and comfortable ride whilst using small wheels with high-pressure tyres Moulton fitted his bicycles with rubber suspension units similar to those used on
546-425: A choice of 998cc (1.0 litre) or 1275cc (1.3-litre) petrol engines. The 1.0 and 1.0L cars, and the van that came out later, had recessed headlamps with indicators and sidelights in the bumper, whereas the 1.0HLE, 1.3S, and 1.3HLS had headlight and indicator as one unit, which was flush-fitting. The name was chosen by a ballot of BL employees. They were offered a choice of three names, "Match", "Maestro" or "Metro". Once
637-399: A comfortable ride - without suffering a penalty in terms of excessive roll when cornering. In roll, there is no transference of fluid from the displacers, and hence its internal pressure rises. The only "give" in the suspension occurs because of the inherent flexibility of the rubber springs. These are naturally stiff. In pitch, as described above, fluid is displaced front to rear, and hence
728-661: A cruise ship, the MS Vistafjord . This launch event took place over a three-week period in September 1980 sailing between West Gladstone Dock in Liverpool and the Isle of Man, where guests could drive the car, so long as sea conditions allowed them to land by tender as there was no dock facility for the ship. The news broke in the national newspapers a full year ahead of the public launch with The Sun , among others, carrying
819-604: A five-speed gearbox on larger-engine models. The Austin Metro was a huge seller in Britain, with more than 1 million being sold over a 10-year production run. The Mk. 3 Ford Escort (1980–1986) was the only model to outsell it in Britain throughout the 1980s, and by December 1989 only the Mk. 3 Ford Escort was a more common model on British roads. However, the first three generations of Ford Fiesta combined outnumbered it by this stage. It remained on sale in automatic-only form alongside
910-583: A fluid and rubber suspension for a new Alvis car, which did not reach production. Moulton also designed "Flexitor" rubber springs for the 1958 Austin Gipsy , an off-road vehicle. After the family business was acquired by the Avon Rubber Company in 1956, Moulton established Moulton Developments Limited to design the suspension system for British Motor Corporation 's new small car, the Mini , that
1001-515: A high risk of injury to all body regions for the driver. Meanwhile, the side impact test also showed high injury risks. The Rover 100's dismal safety showing was not its only problem by 1997. It was fast falling behind the best cars in its sector when it came to design, build quality, refinement and specification, although it remained strong in terms of fuel economy and affordability. Unlike the Ford Fiesta , Volkswagen Polo and Vauxhall Corsa ,
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#17327806063141092-514: A highly respectable third, behind two Lancia Delta S4s . This good start was unfortunately not repeated, and although a 6R4 was entered in rallies at Monte Carlo , Sweden, Portugal and Corsica during the 1986 season, none of the Metros managed to complete a course. The majority of these problems were related to the V6 powerplant which suffered teething issues. Halfway during the 1986 season, Group B
1183-465: A new rounded instrument binnacle and instruments (although the 1984 dashboard moulding remained), new steering wheel, new seats (from the successful Rover 200 series), new door casings and other detail improvements. General build quality, fit and finish was improved enormously from the old Metro and went on to win What Car? "Car of The Year" in 1991. In many export markets, including Italy and France,
1274-404: A raised fuel filler, this also coincided with the cars being able to run on unleaded petrol due to hardened exhaust valve seats, three years before EEC regulations made it compulsory for all new cars to have a catalytic converter or fuel injection. A rear spoiler reduced drag coefficient to increase the Metro's already good fuel economy, and the hydraulic clutch (often berated as the cause of
1365-545: A recorded output of over 410 bhp (306 kW; 416 PS) At its launch in 1985, Rover announced that it would complete the necessary number of cars required for homologation by November of that year. This was undertaken at the group's large manufacturing facility at Longbridge . The car was to participate in the Lombard RAC rally in November 1985, and an example, driven by works driver Tony Pond , finished
1456-409: A rubber spring, and damping is achieved by the displaced fluid passing through rubber valves. The displaced fluid passes to the displacer of the paired wheel, thus providing a dynamic interaction between front and rear wheels. When a front wheel encounters a bump, fluid is transferred to the corresponding rear displacer, then lowers the rear wheel, hence lifting the rear, minimising pitch associated with
1547-511: A saloon version, this niche being filled by the Mini remaining in production; also because only a few of the Metro's competitors were available as a saloon. BL's last all-new mass-produced car before the Metro's launch was the 1976 Rover SD1 . One of the consequences was that there was enormous public interest in the car from well before its launch. The company chose to stage the launch presentations for dealers and major company car buyers on board
1638-517: A semi-monocoque seam-welded tubular chassis. The development of this vehicle had been entrusted to Williams Grand Prix Engineering . The resulting car was shown to the world in May 1985. It was powered by a David Wood designed bespoke 3-litre V6 powerplant which used some of the engine architecture of the Cosworth DFV . It featured twin overhead camshafts and four valves per cylinder. The engine
1729-635: A variety of optional extras such as trip computer , leather trim, remote boot release, and front fog lamps. The changes between the MG engine (taken directly from the Mini Cooper) and the standard 1275 included a modified cylinder head , with larger valves and improved porting, altered cam profile and larger carburettor leading to a 20% increase in BHP to 72 bhp. At the October 1982 Birmingham Motor Show
1820-590: Is an evolution of the previous Hydrolastic system. Manufactured under licence by BTR AVS under the Dunlop brand at the historic Holbrook Lane site. It was first introduced in 1973 in the Austin Allegro and was later fitted to the 1975 Princess and its successor, the 1982 Austin Ambassador . Both systems attempt to address the ride-handling compromise of car suspension by interconnecting the suspension of
1911-417: Is safe to push from when moving the vehicle, so as not to damage the bodywork. The 6R4 appeared in two guises. There was a so-called Clubman model which was the road going version which developed in the region of 250 bhp (186 kW), of which around 200 were made and sold to the public for £40,000 (the homologation version). A further 20 were taken and built to International specifications which had
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#17327806063142002-528: The A-Plus , while the new car would feature 12-inch wheels, and all LC8s would have servo-assisted four-piston front disc brakes with fully split hydraulic systems, as opposed to the entry-level, standard Mini which at the time still had 10-inch wheels and drum brakes all-round. These new drivetrains, wheels, brakes and many other featured developed for the LC8 would be introduced on the Mini not long afterwards, updating
2093-535: The Austin Maestro ). The ADO88 project had experimented with new engines and suspension systems, but, with limited time and budgets, LC8 would reuse much of the Mini's engineering (the A-Series engine , front-wheel drive via a sump-mounted four-speed transmission, front and rear running gear carried in steel subframes separate from the unitary bodyshell) and borrow the Hydragas suspension system developed for
2184-475: The Austin Metro and MGF . The Metro originally featured independent Hydragas units, with no fore/aft interconnection (the pipework was deleted on cost grounds, against the advice of Moulton). While the Metro was praised for its handling, and offered a significant improvement in ride quality over the Mini , it was criticised for its tendency to pitch and bounce on uneven roads - precisely the characteristics
2275-484: The Bristol Aeroplane Company . After the war he joined the family company, which made rubber components such as suspension parts for railway carriages; he turned it towards rubber suspension systems for road vehicles. In the mid 1950s, Moulton developed an experimental rubber suspension which was tested on a Morris Minor . His friend Alec Issigonis heard of this work and together they designed
2366-660: The Ford Escort and Sierra outsold it. This was despite the arrival of a host of new superminis on the British market that year – the Ford Fiesta received a major facelift, and four all-new superminis (the Vauxhall Nova , Fiat Uno , Nissan Micra and Peugeot 205 ) went on sale in Britain between April and September. A major TV advertising campaign was created by the London agency, Leo Burnett which came up with
2457-686: The MINI . The gap left by the Metro as a city car was not filled until late 2003, when the Rover CityRover was launched – it was a 1.4 engined city car built in India alongside the Tata Indica . This model was nowhere near as popular as the Metro or the Rover 100. The 100 was not included in the revived product range by Nanjing Automobile following MG Rover 's bankruptcy in 2005. Created for
2548-525: The Moulton bicycle , launched in 1962, again using rubber suspension and small wheels. A factory was built at Bradford-on-Avon, and Moulton Bicycles Ltd soon became the second-largest frame builder in the country. Moulton was appointed Commander of the British Empire (CBE) in the 1976 New Year Honours for services to industry. Other honours include: Moulton lived at The Hall, Bradford-on-Avon
2639-467: The Princess Hydragas bottles to fit. This involved fitting a new front subframe design, with a larger diameter horizontal chamber in the subframe. MGF was the last vehicle platform to use this design. The Hydragas system was dropped in favour of conventional suspension by Rover when BTR AVS sought to increase the price of the units substantially. After servicing the spares market for some years
2730-514: The Range Rover and the Rover SD1 ), where the main dashboard moulding consisted of a shelf onto which the instrument binnacle was simply mounted on the left or the right hand side: this arrangement saves the tooling cost of two separate dashboard mouldings for right and left-hand drive models. Initially, the Metro was sold as a three-door hatchback only (as were most of its competitors), with
2821-595: The Rover Group . It was launched in 1980 as the Austin Mini Metro (styled AUSTIN miniMETRO ). The Mini Metro was intended to complement and eventually replace the original BMC Mini , and was developed under the codename LC8 . The MG version of the Metro was named "Car of The Year" 1983 by What Car? magazine, and later once more, as the Rover Metro, in 1991. During its 18-year lifespan,
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2912-488: The normally aspirated MG model to give an additional 21 bhp. Aside from the turbocharger and exhaust system itself, and what was (at the time) a relatively sophisticated boost delivery and control system, the MG Turbo variant incorporated stiffer suspension (purportedly with engineering input from Lotus ), and an uprated crankshaft of nitrided steel and sodium-cooled exhaust valves . Both MG variants were given
3003-465: The 100 called the 114 GTa was available from launch. The main differences over the 114 SLi three-door – which has the same engine – were sports seats, red seatbelts, a rev-counter, sports suspension, a slightly higher top speed, faster acceleration, GSi alloy wheels and GTa badging. It was only available as a three-door. In 1997, the Rover 100 gave a poor performance in Euro NCAP crash tests (despite
3094-468: The 100 was a full leather trim, a rarity in a small car and coupled with the standard wood veneer dashboard inserts, a tinted glass sunroof and the optional wood veneer door cappings, the 114 GSi made for traditional luxury motoring; an image Rover was trying to retain. The only safety efforts came in the form of an optional drivers airbag, an alarm, a passive engine immobiliser , a removable radio keypad, central locking and side intrusion beams. A version of
3185-657: The 1970s, with earlier small cars like the Mini and Hillman Imp being followed mostly by cars of a two-box hatchback configuration, beginning with the Fiat 127 in 1971 and Renault 5 in 1972, with the next five years seeing the arrival of similar cars including the Ford Fiesta and Volkswagen Polo , as well as the Vauxhall Chevette from General Motors (known in West Germany as the Opel Kadett ) which
3276-409: The 1990s during open days. It appeared as a 'Scoop' photo on the front cover of CAR magazine in the mid-1980s. Project R6, as it became known, would be a more modest update of the 1980 car – the basic bodyshell was retained, but was improved with the addition of new plastic front and rear bumpers, new front wings, new rear lights and bootlid, new front headlamps and bonnet. The interior was altered with
3367-405: The 30-year old design at minimal extra cost, and providing highly desirable economies of scale , given the anticipated sales volumes of the new car. This would make it cost effective for the more basic versions of the Mini to remain in production as an entry-level model for BL, continuing in the market niche originally intended for ADO88, while allowing the LC8 to aim higher, and compete head-on with
3458-461: The 4-cylinder A-Series engine, in 0.85-, 1.0- and 1.3-litre options. Outputs varied depending on year and trim level, with a low-compression 1.0-litre option available on lower-specification models suitable for 2-star petrol, an 0.85-litre option available in some South American countries; no other market existed for this engine size. At the end of 1987, the Austin marque was shelved. The Austin badge
3549-488: The ADO88 design at customer clinics and the increasing dominance of superminis in the ADO88's intended market segment forced a major change in the project's focus. In late 1977, BL chairman Michael Edwardes ordered that ADO88 be given an eleventh-hour redesign to make it both larger, and less utilitarian in appearance / more upmarket in nature. It thus became BL's first supermini rather than an economy car . The revised project
3640-514: The Allegro. The floorpan and core structure of ADO88 was retained largely unmodified, but every external panel was changed as part of its transition into LC8. However, while much was shared conceptually with older BL models, LC8 would see these design elements heavily re-engineered and modernised. For instance the A-Series drivetrain was extensively updated with new materials and tooling to become
3731-539: The Hall and its collections, and promote engineering and design. The Moulton Bicycle name has undergone several changes of ownership. Since 2008 the name has been used by a privately held company which has a small modern factory just east of the Hall. Austin Metro The Metro is a supermini car , later a city car that was produced from 1980 to 1998, first by British Leyland (BL) and later by
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3822-546: The MG Metro Turbo variant was first shown. With a quoted bhp of 93, 0–60 mph in 9.9 seconds, and top speed of 112 mph (180 km/h) this car had few direct competitors at the time, although the growing demand for "hot hatches" meant that it soon had a host of competitors including the Ford Fiesta XR2, Peugeot 205 GTI and Renault 5 GT Turbo. This model had a few addition modifications bolted on over
3913-635: The MGF and Lotus Elise sports cars, as well as various Rovers and MGs). In December 1994, the revised R6 model appeared. In the United Kingdom, Rover finally scrapped the Metro nameplate, replacing it with a new name, Rover 100 , which had been adopted on continental Europe on the Rover Metro's launch in 1990, due to the weakness of the Austin marque in Europe. The mechanics of the car remained much
4004-670: The Metro range would soon be expanded with more luxurious and high performance versions. The Metro range was expanded in May 1982 to include the luxury Vanden Plas trim level on the Austins and higher performance MG Badged versions; the MG Metro marked a quick comeback for the marque previously used on sports cars until the Abingdon plant making the MG B closed in 1980. The Metro Vanden Plas featured higher levels of luxury and equipment, while
4095-688: The Metro wore many names: Austin Metro , MG Metro and Rover Metro . It was rebadged as the Rover 100 (full name: "Rover 100 series") in December 1994. There was also a van version, known as the Morris Metro , and later, the Metrovan . At the time of its launch, the Metro was sold under the Austin brand, and from 1982 MG versions became available. During 1987, the badge lost the Austin name, and
4186-486: The Metro's front end including much needed colour-coding such as body coloured bumpers on MG versions, wider suspension subframes, along with a new dashboard design featuring the switches and instruments matching that of the Maestro and Montego. The new dashboard was constructed from fewer but larger plastic mouldings, making it easier to assemble and reducing the potential for rattles and other fitting issues. A major part of
4277-487: The Metro's particularly harsh gearchange) was replaced by a self-adjusting cable-operated mechanism. The lack of a five-speed gearbox would become a major drawback as time went on; the BMC sump-mounted gearbox was never developed to accommodate an extra gear ratio , which was a severe handicap against the opposition – by the mid-1980s the Ford Fiesta , Peugeot 205 , Fiat Uno and Opel Corsa /Vauxhall Nova were all available with
4368-656: The Moulton dynasty in the Wiltshire town in 1848. Moulton never married, and had no immediate survivors. Under Moulton's will, the Grade I listed Hall – along with investments, land, outbuildings and cottages – was gifted to a charitable trust. In 2020 the trust was reorganised as a charitable incorporated organisation , the Alex Moulton Charitable Trust, which continues to preserve and maintain
4459-485: The Rover 100 could still provide sub-£7,000 motoring. Facing a complete collapse of sales, Rover withdrew the 100 from production – marking the end of nearly 18 years of production with the last car built on 23 December 1997. There was no direct replacement for the Metro/100, although the 1995 Rover 200 had been developed inside Rover Cars to serve as a replacement for the 100 as well as the previous 200 model, which
4550-551: The Rover Metro was badged as the Rover 100 series, with the 1.1 known as the Rover 111 and the 1.4 called 114. Latterly this car has attracted an enthusiastic following including use as a low-cost entry to motor racing. The basic just-over-100 bhp (70 kW) engine for the GTI can be boosted to over 130 hp (97 kW) at the flywheel. For ultimate performance the 1.8 K-series engine, with standard cams or VVC (Variable Valve Control) system can be fitted (these engines are found in
4641-469: The Rover Metro, and in the cases of the Ford Fiesta and Vauxhall Nova/Corsa, replaced with all-new models twice). It was criticised by the press for its lack of equipment, with front electric windows only available on the range-topping 114 GSi. Rear electric windows were never an option on the 100. Neither were Anti-Lock Brakes, Power Steering or a rev-counter (except the GTa and later manual 114 GSi models) One for
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#17327806063144732-513: The Turbo variant, due to the undeniably increased performance and handling when compared to the non-MG models. From 1983, the MG badge also found its way onto higher performance versions of the Maestro, and shortly afterwards it was adopted for higher-performance versions of the Montego . A Mark II version of the Metro was introduced in 1984. The October facelift saw revised styling modifications to
4823-411: The bump. Naturally the reverse occurs when it is a rear wheel that encounters a bump. This effect is particularly good on small cars as their shorter wheelbases are more affected by pitching. However, the key improvement over conventional suspension is that the front/rear interconnection allows the vehicle to be stiffer in roll than in pitch. Hence it is possible to design a compliant suspension - giving
4914-483: The car was sold simply as the "Metro". From 1990 until its withdrawal in 1998, the Metro sported the Rover brand name. Although the R3-generation Rover 200 (introduced in 1995 and smaller than previous 200 models) had originally been designed as a replacement for the Metro, it was not marketed as such after its launch. The Rover 100 finally ceased production in 1998, being outlived (by three years) by
5005-543: The early part of its production life, it was the best selling mini-car in the UK, before being eclipsed by the updated Ford Fiesta in 1984. Its clever interior design made it spacious considering its dimensions, and Hydragas suspension gave surprisingly good ride and handling. Its updated A+ series 1.0 and 1.3-litre OHV engines hardly represented the cutting edge in performance, but they were strong on economy. In its best year, 1983, more than 130,000 Metros were sold in Britain, only
5096-427: The facelift was the introduction of a five-door Metro: This provided another strong selling point for the Metro in the 1980s, since not only did it already boast a spacious and practical cabin for its size, but some of its slightly larger competitors, such as the Ford Fiesta and Volkswagen Polo, did not offer the option of five doors at the time. From 1989, just before the Metro was replaced, three-door versions were given
5187-409: The front and rear of the car in some way. Hydragas attempted to perform the same function and advantages as the hydropneumatic system developed by Citroën , but without its attendant complexity. The heart of the system is the displacer units, which are pressurised spheres containing nitrogen gas. These replace the conventional steel springs of a regular suspension design. The means for pressurising
5278-407: The front disc brakes were changed to ventilated discs, with ventilated front disks being standardised and adopted by all variants from Mk. 2 onwards. Later MG variants were emblazoned with MG branding both inside and out, which only served to fuel claims of badge engineering from some of the more steadfast MG enthusiasts. Others believed that this sentiment was unfounded, particularly in the case of
5369-571: The gas in the displacers is done by pre-pressurising a hydraulic fluid , and then connecting the displacer to its neighbour on the other axle. This is unlike the Citroën system, which uses hydraulic fluid continuously pressurised by an engine-driven pump and regulated by a central pressure vessel. Despite early problems (the Allegro version of Hydragas was found seriously wanting), it was gradually developed into an effective and efficient alternative to steel springs on later BL/Rover Group models such as
5460-519: The generally longer bodied superminis of other brands. Following the Ryder Report, which prioritized the ADO88/LC8 project, Longbridge was expanded in 1978 with a £200mn robotised body assembly line (known as the "New West Works") to enable it to produce the new model, which it was hoped would sell 100,000 or more units a year in Britain alone. Production of the smaller Mini and larger Allegro
5551-577: The headline "a British car to beat the world". The advert also featured the similar-sized Fiat 127 , Renault 5 , Volkswagen Polo and Datsun Cherry as "foreign invaders " and the voiceover spoke of the Metro's ability to "send the foreigners back where they came from". Following the launch of the Austin Maestro in 1983, less of British Leyland's advertising was focused on the Metro. The Maestro initially sold very well, but within five years sales were declining sharply, although it remained in production until 1994. During 1981, British Leyland confirmed that
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#17327806063145642-422: The improved safety features, including side impact bars in the doors and an optional driver's airbag, the 1970s design was showing its age) – it was at the time the only car tested to receive a one-star Adult Occupant Rating. Other small cars tested at the same time received two or three stars out of five. The passenger compartment was subjected to severe structural damage in the frontal-offset test and results showed
5733-445: The interconnection was intended to remove. The revised Rover Metro had its suspension interconnected and went on to receive plaudits for the quality of its ride. The Austin Maxi was the only in production car to feature both systems. The Maxi featured 1100 designed Hydrolastic units with the regulator valve fitted with the interconnection pipe. However, in 1978 production of Hydrolastic bottles at Dunlop came to an end and BL modified
5824-482: The late 1980s, Dr Moulton stated that he and Issigonis had also studied the Citroën 2CV in the 1950s, which featured fore/aft interconnected steel springs. They particularly wished to address the comical lack of roll stiffness of that car with the system that they were designing. Hydragas is a type of automotive suspension system used in many cars produced by British Leyland and its successor companies. Invented by British automotive engineer Alex Moulton , Hydragas
5915-430: The lower panels of the Peugeot 205 , and incorporating the blacked-out pillars and 'floating roof' of the 1989 R8 Rover 200 . However, this was cancelled by chairman Graham Day, because British Aerospace (then the Rover Group's new owners) refused to fund it, and the disappointing sales of the Maestro and Montego had not produced expected profits to reinvest. A mockup could be seen at the Canley, Coventry design centre in
6006-414: The original Mini that it was meant to replace. 2,078,218 Metros of all types were built. Plans for a replacement for the Mini had been afoot within BL since the early 1970s, but none of the concepts conceived got beyond the initial design stages, largely due to a shortage of funds at British Leyland, and its eventual bankruptcy and government bailout in 1975. The modern supermini market had evolved during
6097-510: The original Mini. Later 'New Series' Moulton bicycles are fitted with rear suspensions systems marketed as 'Hydrolastic'. These are, in essence, miniaturised versions of the displacers used on Hydrolastic-equipped cars being a rubber cone spring with an internal fluid chamber to provide damping. Alex Moulton Alexander Eric Moulton (9 April 1920 – 9 December 2012) was an English engineer and inventor, specialising in suspension design. Moulton's father, John Coney Moulton ,
6188-433: The pressure in the system stays effectively the same, and thus the suspension is much more compliant. The design of the displacer units, and the way in which they are mounted means that as the suspension is compressed, the (roughly spherical) displacer deforms, and hence presents a larger area to the mounting plates. The pressure in the system is thus acting over a larger area, and hence applying additional force. This gives
6279-401: The result was announced, the train-and-bus manufacturer Metro Cammell objected to BL's use of the Metro name. The issue was resolved by BL promising to advertise the car only as the "Mini Metro"; however, after a while "Mini" was dropped from the name. From late 1982 there were also van versions, known as the Morris Metro . From late 1985, after BL discontinued use of the Morris name, the van
6370-415: The revised Rover Metro in order to cater for this market need until an automatic transmission version of the newer car was available. Some Mk2 Metros therefore have known to be registered on a J-prefix registration plate (indicating an August 1991 registration date). October 2010 marked the 30th anniversary of the launch of the Metro, by now a very rare sight on Britain's roads. All Metros were powered by
6461-431: The rising rate characteristic. Jon Pressnell suggests in his book that the hydropneumatic suspension of the Citroën DS motivated Issigonis and Moulton, who were at the time of the launch of the DS working on a rubber and fluid suspension system themselves. Pressnell also suggests that the complexity of the Citroën system encouraged Moulton to develop a much simpler system. In a magazine interview for 'CAR' magazine in
6552-557: The same with 1.1 and 1.4 petrol engines and Hydragas suspension, but there was now the option of a Peugeot -sourced 1.5 diesel rather than the previous 1.4. The exterior was altered in an attempt to disguise the car's age, meet the increased cooling requirements of the Peugeot motor and offer a reduced-format Rover family grille. This was achieved through fitment of new front and rear bumpers, sill covers, rear boot handle and headlamps, bonnet and grille. A variety of bolder paint colours and
6643-409: The short-lived Group B rally category, the 4WD mid engined MG Metro 6R4 of 1984 (standing for 6 -cylinder, R ally, 4 -wheel-drive) was a world away from the best selling city car to which it only bears a superficial cosmetic resemblance. The competition car effectively only shared the name of the production Metro as it featured a mid-mounted engine with four-wheel drive transmission enclosed within
6734-590: The slightly more powerful MG Metro 1.3 sold as a sports model (0–60 mph in 10.9 seconds, top speed 103 mph). The Vanden Plas variant received the same MG engine from 1984 onwards (with the exception of the VP Automatic, which retained the 63 bhp (47 kW) 1275 cc unit). The luxury fittings marking out the Metro Vanden Plas took the form of a radio-cassette player, electric front windows, an improved instrument panel with tachometer , and
6825-609: The story. It was finally revealed to the public on the press day of the British Motor Show with the British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher , in attendance. The Metro quickly proved popular with buyers, a 19-year-old Lady Diana Spencer buying one of the early examples, and was regularly seen in it being hounded by the paparazzi just before her marriage to Prince Charles in July 1981. Even then, during
6916-465: The suspension a sharply rising rate even in pitch, so that there is a strong tendency to return to equilibrium. Without this rising rate there would be no effective pitch resistance at all. Cars with Hydrolastic suspension do, however, have a marked tendency to squat under acceleration, and to dive under braking (and for the rear end to sag under heavy loads). This requires clever design of the suspension components to minimise these forces, and to maximise
7007-405: The use of chrome trim helped give a more upmarket appearance. The interior trim was revised to give a greater impression of quality and luxury, but since the basic architecture had remained unchanged since the original 1980 car, it was considered by many as being short on space and outdated in comparison to its most modern rivals (most of which had been replaced with all-new models since the launch of
7098-540: Was a naturalist working in the Far East. Alex Moulton was the great-grandson of the rubber pioneer Stephen Moulton , the founder of the family business called George Spencer, Moulton & Co. Ltd, based at Bradford-on-Avon , Wiltshire. Moulton was educated at Marlborough College and the University of Cambridge where he was an undergraduate at King's College . During World War II he worked on engine design at
7189-503: Was also available as a saloon and estate in addition to the hatchback. These cars gained a decent-sized market share in Britain and most other European markets. On 8 October 1980, BL introduced the Austin Mini Metro. The roots of the Metro lay in an earlier project denoted as ADO88 ( A malgamated D rawing O ffice, 88 -inch wheelbase), which was intended to be a direct replacement for the Mini . However, poor reception of
7280-528: Was also pruned back to enable the plant to produce as many units of the Metro as possible, with the Allegro finally being axed in 1982 to make way for the Maestro. The hatchback bodyshell was one of the most spacious of its time, and this was a significant factor in its popularity. The space-efficient interior was also lauded for the novel 60/40 split rear seat, which was standard on higher-specification models. The original Mk. 1 Metros also featured David Bache's signature "symmetric" dashboard design (also used on
7371-404: Was banned (following a series of fatal crashes in which both competitors and spectators lost their lives). From that point on, the 6R4 was always going to be limited in front line competition, although they were run with limited success for the remainder of the year. A number passed into private hands and have proved formidable rally and rallycross cars. Despite the expiry of the 6R4's homologation
7462-525: Was being designed by Issigonis. The combination of conical rubber springs and small wheels was one of the many innovative developments that allowed Issigonis to achieve the Mini's small overall size. This was later refined into the hydrolastic and hydragas suspension systems used on later British Leyland cars such as the Austin Maxi , Austin Allegro , Princess and Rover Metro , and later on Rover Group 's MG F sports car. Moulton also designed
7553-499: Was finally launched in May 1990, being a heavily revised version of the original Metro and fitted with a new range of engines. The proven 998 cc and 1275 cc A-Series engines (the 1275cc unit was heavily modified and saw service in the classic Mini right up to the end of Mini production in October 2000) gave way to the all-new K-series engine. These were available in 1.1 litre (1118 cc 60 bhp (45 kW)) and 1.4 litre (1396 cc 76 bhp (57 kW)) 8-valve versions, while
7644-424: Was given the designator LC8 ( L eyland C ars Number 8 ), and the definitive Metro design would ultimately emerge under the leadership of BL's chief stylists David Bache and Harris Mann . LC8 would replace the more upmarket, lower-volume Clubman versions of the Mini and the lower-spec, smaller-engined variants of the Austin Allegro (which would be fully replaced in the early 1980s by project LC10, which became
7735-498: Was in the final stages of developing the new Rover 200 Series and Rover 400 Series models in conjunction with Honda , and it was also working on a replacement for the Metro. During the 1980s, the media had published photographs of the "Austin AR6" concept car, which would have been a completely new design, but towards the end of the decade Rover decided to restyle and re-engineer the existing Metro design instead. The new Rover Metro
7826-430: Was launched with a CVT -type gearbox. The Hydragas suspension was finally modified to accept front to rear interconnection in the way that Alex Moulton had intended, to improve handling and ride quality. A new bodyshell for the replacement car (the AR6 project) was designed. Its styling was influenced by Ital Design , with some similarity to the acclaimed Giorgetto Giugiaro -designed Fiat Punto launched in 1994, and
7917-434: Was mounted on the side of the engine sump with one driveshaft running through the sump to the nearside rear wheel. Much of the outer bodywork was made of GRP , with the only exception being the roof panels (which were aluminium), the steel doors, and the remaining panels from the original Metro shell. The doors were, however, concealed by plastic airboxes. Indeed, models now on show generally have stickers demonstrating where it
8008-440: Was not turbocharged as the majority of its competitors were, which considered the Metro as "unique." The engine was mounted back to front in the car, with the forward end of the engine facing the hatchback and the gearbox attached conventionally behind it and, therefore, in the middle of the vehicle. The four-wheel-drive was permanently engaged, and drove separate prop shafts to the front and rear differentials. The rear differential
8099-463: Was removed from the cars, which continued to be manufactured with no marque badge, just a model name badge. Rover management never allowed Rover badges on the Montego or the Maestro in their home market, although they were sometimes referred to as "Rovers" in the press and elsewhere. They wore badges that were the same shape as the Rover longship badge, but which did not say "Rover". By this stage, Rover
8190-405: Was slightly larger. The 100 and 200 were sold concurrently until 1998, when the 100 was withdrawn. When the Rover 200 was facelifted in late 1999 and rebadged as the Rover 25 , Rover marketed this as a supermini reflecting the continued, steady growth of all car classes. The plan was for both the 100 and the 25 to be on the market until the launch of the true replacement for the Metro in the shape of
8281-449: Was sold as the Austin Metro 310 ; after the Austin badge was also dropped from the car models, it became simply the Metrovan 310 . A two-door saloon model was included in the Metro's development, which would have been similar in concept to the Vauxhall Chevette saloon and the Polo -based Volkswagen Derby . However, by the time production of the Metro began, it was decided not to include
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