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The Most Unusual Cars Modified In The Pursuit Of Performance

Writer's picture: Ollie BrownOllie Brown

Because there are so many different car modification services out there and just as many stock cars that act as a blank canvas for various kinds of wraps, detailing and adjustments, the only limit for many car owners is their imagination.


However, whilst this is absolutely the case, and there is just as much scope to personalise a compact hatchback as there is a luxury saloon or hypercar, there are some cars that still manage to catch people by surprise when it comes to their modifications.


The best examples of this can be found in the world of motorsport, where both performance upgrades and aesthetic modifications are found in equal measure, with platforms that can be 

downright surreal at times.


Here are some of the oddest choices for racing modifications.


MG Metro 6R4


The legendary Group B rally category led to the creation of some of the most iconic modified racing cars ever made, even once specialist one-offs such as the Ford RS200 were discounted.


However, amidst the Lancia Delta S4 and Peugeot 205 T16, probably the most striking, recognisable and somewhat infamous Group B rally cars was the extensively modified Metro 6R4.


It was originally handed to Williams as a 1984 MG-badged version of the Austin Mini Metro, where the legendary Formula One team owners proceeded to throw almost all of it out.


Instead of being a relatively plodding and nondescript front-engined car, it had become an infamously wildly styled car which most notably featured a huge aerodynamic wing on the front and a widebody kit the likes of which would not be seen until the era of Max Power Magazine in the 1990s.


Unfortunately, the aesthetics and the legacy of the Metro have perhaps caused history to be rewritten somewhat, as the car is mistakenly remembered as a complete and total failure when this is simply not the case.


In fact, at its first Group B Rally, the Lombard RAC Rally of Great Britain, Tony Pond managed to finish an outstanding third, ahead of everyone other than the two class-leading Lancia Delta S4s. Even then it was only two and a half minutes behind and 25 minutes ahead of everyone else.


Unfortunately, the V6 engine’s teething troubles meant that the 1986 season did not have the best start, and by the time it was ready to race for real, the entire division was scrapped due to a series of fatal accidents.


Citroen ID 19


The Citroen DS was itself a design so astonishing that philosopher Roland Barthes described it as a “purely magical object”, but what is perhaps even more surprising is its remarkably sustained success in motorsport. 


It won events as early as 1959 and as late as 1974, remarkable for the same car, but what is even more surprising is the breadth of events it took part in.


Whilst a car with such an infamously good suspension and ride quality would fare well in the world of rallying, a pair of unmodified outside of aesthetics and safety features Citroen ID 19s took part in, of all competitions, NASCAR.


They even managed to finish first and second in their class at the Riverside 500, although their overall finishes were 18th and 19th.


Smart Fortwo


The Smart Fortwo is an infamously tiny city car created by Mercedes Benz designed for comfortably cruising at around 20 to 30 mph in built-up areas. However, it was very nearly entered for the infamously perilous Dakar Rally.


Known as the Smart Dakar, a team led by Jose Luis Alvarez worked to merge the body of the Fortwo with the frame of a Polaris XP 900 ATV, and fitted it with a compact 90hp engine. Given the entire car weighs just 750kg, this tiny powerplant was faster than one might expect.


Unfortunately, whilst the prototype looked impressive, Mr Alvarez could not get the funds and sponsorship together to actually enter the Dakar Rally, leaving this astonishing machine as another case of what could have been.


Volvo 850 Estate


Estate cars are typically not seen as suitable platforms for racing cars, because even with extensive modifications to make them lighter and more aerodynamic, they will still be heavier and bigger than their competitors by design.


However, Tom Walkinshaw Racing, who had won the Paris-Dakar Rally with a modified Range Rover, took the very big and very boxy Volver 850 Estate and turned it into a phenomenally fast Super Touring Car during the peak of the British Touring Car Championship.


They competed in the 1994 British Touring Car Championship, finishing eighth in total, with one fifth-place finish and a best qualifying position of third.


It was remarkably competitive for its size, but a ban on aerodynamic aids meant that the boxy Volvo lost the box of tricks it needed to be competitive. The saloon version of the 850 finished third in the next two years of the BTCC.


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