British Leyland entered the small hatchback market - pioneered during the 1970s by the likes of the Renault 5 and Volkswagen Polo - with its Metro which was launched in October 1980.
The Vanden Plas models were rebranded as the 1.5 and the 1.7,[REF] the 1.5 having a twin carburettor 1500 cc engine and a manual gearbox, while the 1.7 had a single carburettor 1750cc engine and an automatic gearbox.