3 replies to this topic

[Duc-Man]

I just noticed that the MG Metro 6R4 competition cars seem to have the 'wrong' dashboard installed.

LHD cars have RHD dashboards and the other way around, so the clocks are infront of the navigator.

 

Photo from carandclassic.co.uk

 

Photo © by me.

 

Since I can't find any photos of it online, were the normal production cars set up like this as well? And what was the idea behind it?

During a rallye is the navigator usually busy with the road book and has not much time to have check the clocks.

Edited by Duc-Man, 18 July 2018 - 11:01.

[BRG]

I only did one rally in a 6R4 and that didn't last long as we barrel rolled it at the first real corner.  But I don't remember having the dials in front of me (as co-driver).

[Kevan]

From memory, this was an oddity of the factory or 'international'-spec cars; the production or 'clubman' versions had a conventional dash with the instruments in front of the driver. IIRC, the thinking was that at Group B speeds, the driver needed the bare minimum of instruments to look at, basically the rev-counter and not much else, while the navigator could monitor the rest in between reading his pacenotes or the roadbook..

[Myhinpaa]

The Standard and Clubman versions had a traditional dashboard similar to the more mundane FWD versions, but with different instruments added.

Philosophy behind moving the instruments over to the co-driver and in the center on the International/Works versions must have been to increase

the drivers vision and focus. Some more info here : http://www.6r4.net/s...r-international

 

Marshals on the '86 Swedish also found the arrangement and Eklund being in a RHD example confusing too.....   https://youtu.be/IlIouF968HA?t=59