[5] 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.

However, poor reception of 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.

These new drivetrains, wheels, brakes and many other featured developed for the LC8 would be introduced on the Mini not long afterwards, updating 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 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.

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.

Its clever interior design made it spacious considering its dimensions, and Hydragas suspension gave surprisingly good ride and handling.

A major TV advertising campaign was created by the London agency, Leo Burnett which came up with the headline "a British car to beat the world".

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).

Others believed that this sentiment was unfounded, particularly in the case of the Turbo variant, due to the undeniably increased performance and handling when compared to the non-MG models.

[11] The October facelift saw revised styling modifications to 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.

[12] It remained on sale in automatic-only form alongside the revised Rover Metro in order to cater for this market need until an automatic transmission version of the newer car was available.

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.

Its styling was influenced by Ital Design, with some similarity to the acclaimed Giorgetto Giugiaro-designed Fiat Punto launched in 1994, and the lower panels of the Peugeot 205, and incorporating the blacked-out pillars and 'floating roof' of the 1989 R8 Rover 200.

[15] 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.

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.

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 the Rover Metro, and in the cases of the Ford Fiesta and Vauxhall Nova/Corsa, replaced with all-new models twice).

Neither were Anti-Lock Brakes, Power Steering or a rev-counter (except the GTa and later manual 114 GSi models) One for 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.

The passenger compartment was subjected to severe structural damage in the frontal-offset test and results showed a high risk of injury to all body regions for the driver.

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.

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 a semi-monocoque seam-welded tubular chassis.

A further 20 were taken and built to International specifications which had a recorded output of over 410 bhp (306 kW; 416 PS)[22][23] At its launch in 1985, Rover announced that it would complete the necessary number of cars required for homologation by November of that year.

The car was to participate in the Lombard RAC rally in November 1985, and an example, driven by works driver Tony Pond, finished a highly respectable third, behind two Lancia Delta S4s.

[24][25] 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.

Much debate among automotive historians has taken place over whether BL's decision to push the Metro's development programme ahead of the potentially more profitable Maestro/Montego models was justified.

The Metro's popularity endured in spite of its failure to match the durability of its contemporary rivals, notably the Nissan Micra (K10) and VW Polo Mk.

[citation needed] This is well illustrated by the findings of Auto Express's 2006 survey which named the Metro as Britain's seventh-most scrapped car of the last thirty years.

Official factory support for the Metro is now non-existent due to the demise of MG Rover which has ended the supply of crucial and unique parts.