Austin Metro

The Austin Mini Metro with opening doors & boot and tip up seats. The Mini Metro was launched by British Leyland in 1980. When I was putting this page together I was thinking that you don't see so many of them around any more. All those years since it came out. Does this make it a classic? I still think of the Metro as contemporary, I think that makes me a fossil. However as of August 2022 there is still one parked in the street where I live.

This is one of the models Corgi released in conjunction with the real car which was launched as I remember with a huge fanfare, loads of publicity including the competition among the workers to give the new car a name. Was this the last truly British car to go into volume production?

Corgi produced the civilian version (275) from January 1981 onwards and into the post-Mettoy era in red, cream & blue with red or cream seats, and gold - which gets a premium price. and there is also a Charles & Diana Royal Wedding commemorative in purple (275) released in October 1981. I struggle to get more than a fiver for these though.

In February 1982 a racing version was released (281). This is Richard Longman's car as raced in the British Touring Car Championship in 1981. It remained in the Corgi range up to the 1983 bankruptcy.

There have been a number of post Mettoy releases mostly in 1983 and 1984