Group A Rover 3500 SD1/Vitesse - History & Whereabouts

[Jesper OH]

Just reading the small prints of Autosport 1982 May 6:

Leyland's French Production Car Championship hopes should be even stronger soon. While René Metge has been well in contention in the French saloon car championship in his Rover 3500, he should soon be joined by none other than French rally ace Jean-Claude Andruet, who wil be driving a second Rover, currently being built up by Metge's Paris-based team.

This should make the car a "Metge", but as it could be build from TWR parts, does anyone know were this car fits in?

Jesper

[chunterer]

Crikey, Jesper, another ace bit of pondering for us all to do! This thread just keeps throwing up new info to explore. Absolutely love it!!!

As the article says 2nd car built up by Metge, I guess he would have sourced the parts from TWR, as IIRC from earlier in the thread, we can pretty much confirm that Rene's 1ST car was probably an ex Grp 1 machine? Corliss said the one he got from Belgium had Daily Express logos and stuff underneath the Marlboro colours when he stripped the paint back.

I suppose it's possible the Andruet car was simply a French built car using info and lessons they'd learned from the TWR car though?

[Al Weyman]

Look carefully Chunter it has Classic Touring Car Racing Club stickers on it so put a post on the clubs site as I am sure someone will identify it. I would doubt it genuine, I could post a picture of a friends Bastos livered car here and some would think it original, its not its far superior and quicker :-)

[Peter Mallett]

Al,

It is a genuine gp 2 Rover, (AFIK the only one built). Tony Palmer ran it in Classic Thunder.

I think he bought it from Tony Dickinson.

[chunterer]

Yes Peter you're right afaiac.

Al what's this Bastos car you're on about? If it's far superior and quicker than an original then it isn't a pukka Group A car!!! Yeah post the pics, it'll be interesting to know it's own particular history though before your friend bought it?

[KA]

Originally Posted by chunterer

Yes Peter you're right afaiac.

Al what's this Bastos car you're on about? If it's far superior and quicker than an original then it isn't a pukka Group A car!!! Yeah post the pics, it'll be interesting to know it's own particular history though before your friend bought it?

would that be the Gerry Cain car by any chance? I remember seeing it at Lydden a few years back- a very rapid bit of kit...

[Peter Mallett]

Yep that would be the one. I think it runs a 4.3 engine.

[Jesper OH]

Originally Posted by Jesper OH

Armin Hahne from Zolder '83, from what is probably a round of the German Rundstrecken Trophy: http://www.gyle.be/mkportal/modules/...lbum=34&pos=10. Don't know if this is a TWR or ATN (Frieder Nickel) car or something altogether third team. This could also bee one of the first couplings of the dentist and a Rover, since he was winning the Spa 24h in a Juma BMW in July '83. The Westfalen Pokal at Zolder was held on August 20th and 21st.

Jesper

http://www.gtv6-156gta.be/GTV6GrA198...toHebdo390.pdf

From the above link, Hahne raced the black Vitesse twice in the German Touring Car Championship, winning at Zolder in August 1983, apparently liking the car.

Jesper

[Al Weyman]

It is Gerry's car and I think the engine is well over five litres now, him and his man Basil built the car themselves (they also built my IROC-Z incidently or at least prepared the shell). He would sell it for the right price and you will be hard pushed to find a better one, I think it would make a great car in the Historic HotRod series. I will scan a picture in I have at the shop tomorrow if I get a minute.

[corliss]

Originally Posted by chunterer

Crikey, Jesper, another ace bit of pondering for us all to do! This thread just keeps throwing up new info to explore. Absolutely love it!!!

As the article says 2nd car built up by Metge, I guess he would have sourced the parts from TWR, as IIRC from earlier in the thread, we can pretty much confirm that Rene's 1ST car was probably an ex Grp 1 machine? Corliss said the one he got from Belgium had Daily Express logos and stuff underneath the Marlboro colours when he stripped the paint back.

I suppose it's possible the Andruet car was simply a French built car using info and lessons they'd learned from the TWR car though?

According to my information the early Metge cars were built and prepared by Autorama, Paris-Malakoff, France. NOT by TWR. They were not Grp1 cars converted. Later cars certainly had TWR input, I.E 1983/4 onwards.
I have a French magazine article where BL brought one of the French cars over to England for a back to back test with a TWR sanyo car, the French car being substantially quicker.
The very first French Marlboro car ( see earlier thread, Goodwood test ) appears to have been built by BL Motorsport, No mention of DPR input. Not sure if it raced in that spec though. It seems Autorama did build a few cars as the French Supertourisme rules were totally different to any others.

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[KA]

Originally Posted by corliss

According to my information the early Metge cars were built and prepared by Autorama, Paris-Malakoff, France. NOT by TWR. They were not Grp1 cars converted. Later cars certainly had TWR input, I.E 1983/4 onwards.
I have a French magazine article where BL brought one of the French cars over to England for a back to back test with a TWR sanyo car, the French car being substantially quicker.
The very first French Marlboro car ( see earlier thread, Goodwood test ) appears to have been built by BL Motorsport, No mention of DPR input. Not sure if it raced in that spec though. It seems Autorama did build a few cars as the French Supertourisme rules were totally different to any others.

Skip

Interesting...Any idea how many cars Autorama built? The story is getting more and more complicated as it goes on....Wonder where those Autorama cars went....?

[chunterer]

Sure is, we've now gone over 600 PAGES!!!!

Top work people, keep this thing going until we find the truth!!!!

Alex reckoned the Marlboro Rover that the Griffins had in '87 as a hack which they later races in BTCC came from BL. Corliss reckons the Autorama cars were from BL not TWR.

Naturally I'm now wondering if the ex Marlboro Griffin car was a BL non TWR French car?

[ejefi]

The Austin Rover Motorsport Press information pack for 1984 that I have says that the cars for the 1984 French championship are to be prepared and serviced by TWR, the cars for the German Saloon car championship run to virtually the sane as Group A regulations are prepared by Auto Technik Nickel in Aachen.

[chunterer]

Welcome ejefi, thanks for posting!
TWR involvement in France was certainly from '83 onwards, (at least 1 ex Grp 1 car was converted -member Corliss has it!) but there seems to be a question mark as to whether the link up began before that?

[corliss]

I am getting good at finding unknowns.

Found this interesting piece from South Africa:

"I have attached some photos of the car taken yesterday at Zwartkops.It has been returned to the same spec and colour it was all those years ago.The original motor is still with the car but I beleive they will be saving that motor and will race with another motor.The originl motor had some special parts and is rare.
This car can be identified and has a proper chassis number to identify it.It was never built as a road car and came from the UK factory built as a race car.There have been a few articles written about this car.Classic Cars in Action and the Citizen Newspaper did an article some years ago.

In 2003 the late Paddy O'Sullivan offered this car to me for a very reasonable amount,I could not afford it at the time.I will dig out my photo's I took whenI went to see the car and post it on the site.This was without a motor or the original colour scheme. it was plain white.
No Chevy or Ford sounds as good as this little V8."












If, as the above quote states, it is an original factory car, was it the other Grp1 car, or is it in fact the original Grp2 car???
I have studied the photos and lots of parts appear identical to mine.

It seems to have appeared in about early 80`s from what I can see, and ran in the Kyalami 1000kms in both 1984 & 1985 driven by Mike & Paddy O`Sullivan, Entered by Shell Sport S.A. Car was possibly first owned by Deon De Waal.

Has anyone ever heard of this car before??

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[corliss]

Found another photo of the South African car in earlier spec:


MIKE O`SULLIVAN IN THE ROVER SD1 THROUGH CLUBHOUSE CORNER AT KYALAMI.jpg [ 31.42 KB | Viewed 1 time ]

Attachments:
scan0001.jpg [ 847.93 KB | Viewed 10 times ]


Interesting to note prominent "Leyland" logo`s, and in Shell colours.

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[Nordic]

Not sure if this advances you any more forward but I have found this in my collection.
I would guess it was taken in 79 or 80 at a Brands, at what I would imagine was an open test day. it was on 110mm (remember that) film before I started using a SLR so excuse the quality.

[corliss]

Originally Posted by Nordic

Not sure if this advances you any more forward but I have found this in my collection.
I would guess it was taken in 79 or 80 at a Brands, at what I would imagine was an open test day. it was on 110mm (remember that) film before I started using a SLR so excuse the quality.

Looks remarkably like the original BL built race car for B.L.France/ Rene Metge, was tested in England in 79 or 80. See earlier thread on Goodwood test and of Model Kit of this car



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[KA]

Originally Posted by Nordic

Not sure if this advances you any more forward but I have found this in my collection.
I would guess it was taken in 79 or 80 at a Brands, at what I would imagine was an open test day. it was on 110mm (remember that) film before I started using a SLR so excuse the quality.

Originally Posted by corliss

Looks remarkably like the original BL built race car for B.L.France/ Rene Metge, was tested in England in 79 or 80. See earlier thread on Goodwood test and of Model Kit of this car



Skip

That certainly does look like the original Metge/Marlboro car- so it looks like it may have tested at both Goodwood and Brands before going to France.

The South African car is a great find- I'd seen it mentioned in the results of the Kyalami 1000km while looking up Group C sportscar stuff, but didn't know anything about it- I'd certainly never seen a photo....

[GBRM]

[Dan Rear]

Originally Posted by Nordic

Not sure if this advances you any more forward but I have found this in my collection.
I would guess it was taken in 79 or 80 at a Brands, at what I would imagine was an open test day. it was on 110mm (remember that) film before I started using a SLR so excuse the quality.

Interesting pic N, whats the sportscar in front of the Rover, do you know?

[corliss]

Can anybody translate??

News clip dated 27 March 2008

RECORDAR É VIVER
PEDRO MEIRELES
Fez furô no nosso automobilismo com a criação da equipa da Traffic, que fez corre uma série de carros na nossa velocidade, com maior incidência no Rover 3500,

para além da participação no Troféu Toyota Starlet. Esta equipa inovou a forma de fazer marketing automóvel, mas como tudo na vida, teve um principio, meio e final, mas deixou muitas ideias para outras equipas, que vieram a copiar a sua forma de estar. Em relação a Pedro Meireles, depois de se retirar, dedicou-se Ã* empresa Traffic, que haveria de terminar para passar a administrar um turismo de habitação no Minho. Actualmente encontra-se em Moçambique a administrar uma fazenda de caça de grande dimensões, onde recebem convidados vips, para caçadas, mas como tudo na vida é sempre bom recordar.

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[Gil Abobeleira]

Originally Posted by corliss

Can anybody translate??

PEDRO MEIRELES
Fez furô no nosso automobilismo com a criação da equipa da Traffic, que fez corre uma série de carros na nossa velocidade, com maior incidência no Rover 3500,

para além da participação no Troféu Toyota Starlet. Esta equipa inovou a forma de fazer marketing automóvel, mas como tudo na vida, teve um principio, meio e final, mas deixou muitas ideias para outras equipas, que vieram a copiar a sua forma de estar. Em relação a Pedro Meireles, depois de se retirar, dedicou-se Ã* empresa Traffic, que haveria de terminar para passar a administrar um turismo de habitação no Minho. Actualmente encontra-se em Moçambique a administrar uma fazenda de caça de grande dimensões, onde recebem convidados vips, para caçadas, mas como tudo na vida é sempre bom recordar.

Skip

I'll take a shot (very strange Portuguese that one... oh dear, I just hate reading stuff which is not used over here ):

"Pedro Meireles made a hit when he created the team Traffic, which raced various cars on our championships, especially the Rover 3500 and the Toyota Starlet trophy cars.

This team inovated in what we now call "racing marketing", but like everything in life, there was a beginning, a middle and an end to it. However, it left many new ideas that were copied by other teams.

As for Pedro Meireles, after he retired from racing, he pursued his bussiness in Traffic, which he sold when he created a small bussiness in rural tourism in the Minho region.

At the time being, he now lives in Mozambique, being in-charge of a very large hunting cottage, which are normally visited by various VIP people."

[Nordic]

Originally Posted by Dan Rear

Interesting pic N, whats the sportscar in front of the Rover, do you know?

Can't be sure, I tried to enhance it when I sacnned it as I was curious as well but the size of film rendered it a impossible to see any more detail.

My best guess would be the IBEC, I know it was mostly seen white, but have it in my mind it was dark blue first.

[corliss]

Not sure, but was`nt there some confusion as to the portugese cars being the same car?

Just found a report of a hill climb showing both cars at same event





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