Ticking All The Boxes – Frazer Tickford

If we suggested to you that out there, in the vast and varied world of the automobile, there was a pint-sized Aston Martin, you’d immediately jump to the Cygnet of 2011. This curious Toyota IQ-based machine was in essence nothing more than a way to get around emissions standards. By offering this incredibly frugal car, Aston Martin could offset the average carbon output of its cars. Clever. And while it could have just phoned it in and done nothing more than slap an Aston badge on a Toyota, it didn’t. Instead, Aston went all out and built the most luxurious small car the world has ever seen. It was weird, but ultimately, it was impressive. 

The Cygnet worked because it wasn’t Aston’s first go at making a small luxurious car. Back in the 1980s, when Aston’s main output was big, burly, V8 machines, it also made the car you’re looking at here. This, ladies and gents, is the Frazer Tickford. And it is ludicrously magnificent. And yes, it’s a Metro.

Frazer Tickford, you may be wondering, is not Aston Martin. Frazer, which was nothing to do with Frazer Nash, was an engineering partner brought in to the Aston Martin fold. It was partnered up with Tickford, Aston’s new subdivision created to take existing cars and better them in every aspect. Tuning, trim, build, the Frazer Tickford partnership under Aston Martin would handle it all. However, so proud was Aston Martin of the final car, it made sure its enamel badges were stuck to the flanks. 

There was a lot of work involved to transform this…

The base car was a Metro 1.3S, which was a fairly unremarkable car. The Metro was the car Austin billed as the replacement for the Mini, and as such, they remained faithful by using Mini subframes and suspension. However, the Mini was a car we were not willing to let go of as a buying public, and as such the Metro lived its life in the shadow of the Mini – it never replaced it, instead it was built alongside it. 

Quite why Frazer Tickford chose a Metro is something of a mystery. However, the notion of applying bespoke building techniques to a car that had previously never seen them did make sense. Rather than adding to a car’s existing luxury, with the Metro they were starting from ground zero. There was no luxury to improve upon, because there was no luxury. As such, everything Frazer Tickford did to the Metro would be a measure of their ability, not work that could be accused of riding on the coattails of the original maker. 

The base Metros were reduced to their component parts, and then a lot of those parts were promptly put in the bin. With a bare shell at their disposal, the Frazer Tickford team set about injecting luxury and refinement into the little car. 

Let’s start with the interior. Swathes of high-grade leather were wrapped around everything. The redesigned high-back seats, the rear parcel shelf, the door cards and even the covers of the door mounted ashtrays. The polished three-spoke steering wheel and steering column shroud were wrapped in cow, and so too was the dash. But the dash wasn’t of standard Metro design. Instead, an all new dash was built. The driver’s side was an imposing design that wrapped around the driver. Within it was the familiar dash binnacle, but that was all that was familiar. In amongst the leather, there sat a TRIPLE deck Uher stereo with graphic equalizer (peak ‘80s right there),Veglia gauges for oil pressure, battery charge and manifold vacuum sat within the leather, too. 

Further refinements included a liberal dose of rich, deep, Wilton carpet. Cruise control was fitted, electric windows, and on some models, there was an electric sunroof. Remote central locking was fitted, as was a remote boot opening mechanism. Cutting-edge stuff for the time. It’s rumoured one was built with air conditioning, too. 

Externally, the Frazer Tickford was given a bespoke body kit featuring arch flares, deep side skirts and new front and rear bumpers. The front bumper boasted an impressive four fog lights, while the rear gained two. Porsche-inspired alloys wearing Pirelli P7 tyres sat under the glorious kit to complete the visual transformation. 

The Frazer Tickford was offered in metallic silver as standard, with matching leather. However, given that the conversion took the £4,000 car to nearly £12,000, buyers could have any colour and trim option they wanted. A case in point would be the gorgeous bronze car pictured here with matching coffee leather. Lovely. 

Of course, you can’t fill a Metro with 90kg of leather, bodykit and stacks of stereo without doing something to the engine and suspension. As such, the 1,275cc A+ engine was given a hot cam, the cylinder head was gas flowed and fitted with bigger valves, the inlet manifold was tweaked and a new, twin choke Weber carb was fitted. The result of all this work was a dizzying 80bhp. But, in a car as big as a box of Swan Vestas, it was enough. 

The suspension was re-worked, too. The hydragas system was re-pressurised to cope with the added weight, it was lowered and an anti-roll bar was fitted to the rear, while the front anti-roll bar was stiffened. And you have to remember, this work was applied to what was already a tight, direct chassis. As such, despite all the leather and all the stereo, the Frazer Tickford handled exceptionally well.

In their vision to transform the humble Metro, Frazer Tickford missed nothing. It was a complete package, with trim, engine and chassis all on the receiving end of equal amounts of care and attention. However, it was care and attention that was largely lost on the buying public. We couldn’t fathom the notion of a £12,000 Metro. To give you some perspective, in today’s money that’s around £50,000. For a Metro. It might have been 1981, it might have been the dawn of the decade of excess, but fifty large for a Metro? No, we weren’t having that. 

Only 26 Frazer Tickford models were built, securing their place in automotive history’s book of rarest creations. Some may deem it a failure, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. It might not have been the commercial success Aston Martin had hoped for, but that didn’t matter. What the Frazer Tickford did was cement the relationship between Frazer and, um, Tickford. It showed what could be done, it set out the future. And when we say the future, we mean cars like the Tickford Capri. Icons, then. 

If you’re ever lucky enough to see one of these machines in the metal, be sure to take your time in looking it over. It might ‘just’ be a Metro, but it’s also one of the rarest cars on the planet. And who thought we would ever say that about the car that failed to take on the Mini? 

Huge thanks to The Percival Motor Company for letting us use these pictures of their now sold Frazer Tickford. This car might be sold, but do check out their stock for some other classic gems!