BL R-series engine BL R-series engine The R series is a line of petrol engines introduced by British Leyland in 1983 for the then-new Austin Maestro. It was only produced in one capacity—1.6 litres. The engine was essentially a lightly modified version of the E-series unit found in the Maxi and Allegro. The main differences over the older engine are to the sump and gearbox mounting flange, which were adapted to accept a traditional "end-on" transmission unit which had been bought from Volkswagen in place of the traditional BMC transmission-in-sump arrangement. The R series was mainly a stop gap, and had a very
Austin Metro Austin Metro The Metro is a city car that was produced by British Leyland (BL) and, later, the Rover Group from 1980 to 1998. It was launched in 1980 as the Austin Mini Metro. It was intended to complement and eventually replace the Mini, and was developed under the codename LC8. The Metro was named by "What Car?" as Car of The Year in 1983 as an MG, and again as a Rover in 1991. During its 18-year lifespan, the Metro wore many names: Austin Metro, MG Metro and Rover Metro. It was re-badged as the Rover 100 series in