The Metro was an interesting little car that was marketed by GM as a Geo Metro and then a Chevrolet Metro in North America. They came in a few different configurations but I have never seen a Rally Edition before. This one-of-a-kind 1991 Geo Metro Rally Edition can be found here on craigslist in Dubuque, Iowa. The seller is asking $7,000 for this unusual car with only 186 miles on the odometer.
I have never heard of a Rally or Baja Edition Geo Metro and I can’t find any information about a Baja version at all anywhere. The seller has it listed as a “Baja” edition but I just ran across this same car that was sold at Barrett-Jackson in 2009 and they list it as an “LSI Rally Custom”. The seller mentions that it’s from the GM Heritage Collection which would be a pretty prestigious place to have gotten a vehicle from. I searched their website and didn’t find anything on it at all and a general internet search turned up nothing but variations of ads listing this same car for sale. Wherever it’s from and whatever it is, I like it!
The Geo Metro for North America was known as a Suzuki Cultus and in 1989, they replaced my personal favorite Suzuki Cultus derivative: the Chevrolet Sprint. especially the turbo version. Someone has spent a lot of time and money on this Geo Metro, it doesn’t look like a garage job to me but something that could have been done with the help of GM’s deep pockets. Who knows the real story. The integrated driving lights in the grille are great and are those lights in the rear bumper?
The photos are fuzzy as if the seller had a piece of Saran Wrap over the lens, I’m not sure what caused that and it’s unfortunate. The interior is partially custom and according to the Barrett-Jackson listing, it has custom Cobra racing seats and four-point harnesses for front passengers. I can see this being a Rally edition but I would think that a Baja edition would be higher with a rugged off-road suspension. This looks more like an on-road rally car to me rather than an off-road Baja car.
I expected to see a turbo under the hood but the seller doesn’t give much info at all. The Barrett-Jackson listing from 2009 mentions a 1.0L with 55-hp. These are three-cylinder engines and the turbo version had 70 hp, I would have expected at least that amount of horsepower given the amount of work that was done to the rest of the car – it’s a bit of a letdown, to say the least. This one is a gigantic head-scratcher for me. Is it a Baja Edition? A Rally Edition? Why not tweak the drivetrain? I don’t get it but it sure would draw a crowd at any car show. Thoughts?
It looks like one of those mildly customized SEMA cars that are shown every year….some graphics and a few minor modifications. Its sort of interesting.
It’s got a 1992 or later dash and taillights.
Or potential Clown Car?
Too pretty to drive off-road! Interesting find, Scotty. It must have been promoting *something* but I couldn’t find any history on it either. Anything that flashy should have at least 200 HP. It calls to mind the “Cavalier GT,” basically a normal Cavalier adorned with Goofy Tape. Thanks for bringing it to our attention!
Where can you buy a brand new Geo Metro in 2020. Amazing find.
I designed this car for SEMA, It was called the Geo Metro Rally. It wasn’t something that the GM Performance group asked for, I just did a sketch and hung it in the lobby of TDM and Jon Moss from GM asked us to build it. Yes, all show, with no go – lol I wanted to put a Swift GT 4 cylinder in it but that would have cost more time and money. Most of the design work were the custom designed front and rear facias, the rear wing and roof bracket and the asymmetrical graphics which I laid out on the car myself. The “giant” 15″ DP wheels were my favorites at the time and those PIAA lamps were cutting edge back then. I still have my original sketches :)