Riley was a British
motorcarAn automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
and
bicycleA bicycle, also known as a bike, pushbike or cycle, is a human-powered, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A person who rides a bicycle is called a cyclist, or bicyclist....
manufacturer from 1890. The company became part of the
Nuffield OrganisationThe Nuffield Organisation was a vehicle manufacturing company in the United Kingdom. Named after its founder, William Morris, 1st Viscount Nuffield, it was formed in 1938 as the merger of Nuffield's Morris Motor Company , another of Nuffield's companies the MG Car Company and Riley.Morris Motors...
in 1938 and was later merged into
British LeylandBritish Leyland was a vehicle manufacturing company formed in the United Kingdom in 1968 as British Leyland Motor Corporation Ltd . It was partly nationalised in 1975 with the government creating a new holding company called British Leyland Ltd which became BL Ltd in 1978...
: late in 1969 British Leyland announced their discontinuance of Riley production, although 1969 was a difficult year for the UK auto industry and so a number of cars from the company's inventory are likely to have been first registered only in 1970.
Today, the Riley trademark is owned by
BMWBayerische Motoren Werke AG is a German automobile, motorcycle and engine manufacturing company founded in 1916. It also owns and produces the Mini marque, and is the parent company of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. BMW produces motorcycles under BMW Motorrad and Husqvarna brands...
.
Riley Cycle Company
Riley began as the Bonnick Cycle Company of
CoventryCoventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...
, England. During the pedal cycle craze that swept Britain at the end of the 19th century, in 1890, William Riley Jr. purchased the company and in 1896 renamed it the Riley Cycle Company. Later, cycle gear maker Sturmey Archer was added to the portfolio. Riley's younger son, Percy, left school in the same year and soon began to dabble in
automobileAn automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
s. He built his first car at 16, in 1898, secretly, because his father did not approve. It featured the first mechanically operated inlet valve. By 1899, Percy Riley moved from producing
motorcycleA motorcycle is a single-track, two-wheeled motor vehicle. Motorcycles vary considerably depending on the task for which they are designed, such as long distance travel, navigating congested urban traffic, cruising, sport and racing, or off-road conditions.Motorcycles are one of the most...
s to his first prototype four-wheeled quadricycle. Little is known about Percy Riley's first "motor-car". It is, however, well attested that the engine featured mechanically operated cylinder valves at a time when other engines depended on the vacuum effect of the descending piston to suck the inlet valve(s) open. That was demonstrated some years later when Benz developed and patented a mechanically operated inlet valve process of their own but were unable to collect royalties on their system from British companies; the courts were persuaded that the system used by British auto-makers was based the one pioneered by Percy, which had comfortably anticipated equivalent developments in Germany. In 1900, Riley sold a single three-wheeled automobile. Meanwhile the elder of the Riley brothers, Victor Riley, although supportive of his brother's embryonic motor-car enterprise, devoted his energies to the core bicycle business.
Company founder William Riley remained resolutely opposed to diverting the resources of his bicycle business into motor cars, and in 1902 three of his sons, Victor, Percy and younger brother Alan Riley pooled resources, borrowed a necessary balancing amount from their mother and in 1903 established the separate Riley Engine Company, also in Coventry. A few years later the other two Riley brothers, Stanley and Cecil, having left school joined their elder brothers in the business. At first, the Riley Engine Company simply supplied engines for Riley motorcycles and also to
SingerSinger was an automobile company founded in 1905 in Coventry, England. It was acquired by the Rootes Group of the United Kingdom in 1956, who continued the brand until 1970...
, a newly emerging motor cycle manufacturer in the area, but the Riley Engine Company company soon began to focus on four-wheeled automobiles. Their Vee-Twin Tourer prototype, produced in 1905, can be considered the first proper Riley car. The Engine Company expanded the next year. William Riley reversed his former opposition to his sons' preference for motorised vehicles and Riley Cycle halted motorcycle production in 1907 to focus on automobiles. Bicycle production also ceased in 1911.
In 1912, the Riley Cycle Company changed its name to Riley (Coventry) Limited as William Riley focused it on becoming a wire-spoked wheel supplier for the burgeoning motor industry, the detachable wheel having been invented (and patented) by Percy and distributed to over 180 motor manufacturers, and by 1912 the father's business had also dropped automobile manufacture in order to concentrate capacity and resources on the wheels. Exploitation of this new and rapidly expanding lucrative business sector made commercial sense for William Riley, but the abandonment of his motor-bicycle and then of his automobile business which had been the principal customer for his sons' Riley Engine Company enforced a rethink on the Engine Company.
Riley Motor Manufacturing
In early 1913, Percy was joined by three of his brothers (Victor, Stanley, and Allan) in a new business focused on manufacturing entire automobiles. This Riley Motor Manufacturing Company was located near Percy's Riley Engine Company. The first new model, the 17/30, was introduced at the London Motor Show that year. Soon afterwards, Stanley Riley founded yet another company, the Nero Engine Company, to produce his own 4-cylinder 10 hp (7.5 kW) car. Riley also began manufacturing
aeroplaneA fixed-wing aircraft is an aircraft capable of flight using wings that generate lift due to the vehicle's forward airspeed. Fixed-wing aircraft are distinct from rotary-wing aircraft in which wings rotate about a fixed mast and ornithopters in which lift is generated by flapping wings.A powered...
engines and became a key supplier in Britain's buildup for World War I.
In 1918, after the war, the Riley companies were restructured. Nero joined Riley (Coventry) as the sole producer of automobiles. Riley Motor Manufacturing came under the control of Allan Riley to become Midland Motor Bodies, a
coachbuilderA coachbuilder is a manufacturer of bodies for carriages or automobiles.The trade dates back several centuries. Rippon was active in the time of Queen Elizabeth I, Barker founded in 1710 by an officer in Queen Anne's Guards, Brewster a relative newcomer , formed in 1810. Others in Britain included...
for Riley. Riley Engine Company continued under Percy as the engine supplier. At this time, Riley's blue diamond badge, designed by Harry Rush, also appeared. The motto was "As old as the industry, as modern as the hour."
Riley grew rapidly through the 1920s and 1930s. The Riley Engine Company produced 4-, 6-, and 8-cylinder engines, while Midland built more than a dozen different bodies. Riley models at this time included:
- Saloons: Adelphi, Continental, Deauville, Falcon, Kestrel, Mentone, Merlin, Monaco, Stelvio, Victor
- Coupes: Ascot, Lincock
- Tourers: Alpine, Lynx, Gamecock
- Sports: Brooklands, Imp, MPH, Sprite
- Limousines: Edinburgh, Winchester
Introduced in 1926 in a humble but innovatively designed
fabricWeymann Fabric Bodies is a patented design system for fuselages for aircraft and superlight coachwork for motor vehicles. The system used a patent-jointed wood frame covered in fabric...
bodied saloon, Percy Riley's ground-breaking Riley 9 engine- a small capacity, high revving unit- was ahead of its time in many respects. Having hemispherical combustion chambers and inclined overhead valves, it has been called the most significant engine development of the 1920s. With twin camshafts set high in the cylinder block and valves operated by short pushrods, it provided power and efficiency without the servicing complexity of an OHC (overhead camshaft) layout. It soon attracted the attention of tuners and builders of 'specials' intended for sporting purposes. One such was engineer/driver
J.G. Parry-ThomasJohn Godfrey Parry-Thomas was a Welsh engineer and motor-racing driver who at one time held the Land Speed Record. He was the first driver to be killed in pursuit of the land speed record....
, who conceived the Riley 'Brooklands' model in his workshops at the banked Surrey circuit. After Parry-Thomas was killed during a land speed record attempt in 1927, his close collaborator
Reid Railton stepped in to finish the job. Officially backed by the Riley company, the Brooklands, along with later developments and variations such as the 'Ulster' Imp, MPH, and Sprite, proved some of the most successful works and privateer racing cars of the late 1920s and early 1930s. At
Le MansThe 24 Hours of Le Mans is the world's oldest sports car race in endurance racing, held annually since near the town of Le Mans, France. Commonly known as the Grand Prix of Endurance and Efficiency, race teams have to balance speed against the cars' ability to run for 24 hours without sustaining...
in 1934, Rileys finished 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 6th and 12th, winning the Rudge Whitworth Cup, the Team Prize, two class awards, and the Ladies' Prize. Rileys also distinguished themselves at the Ulster TT, at
BrooklandsBrooklands was a motor racing circuit and aerodrome built near Weybridge in Surrey, England. It opened in 1907, and was the world's first purpose-built motorsport venue, as well as one of Britain's first airfields...
itself, and at smaller events like hill climbs, while providing a platform for the success of motorsports' first women racing drivers such as Kay Petre, Dorothy Champney and Joan Richmond. Another engineer/driver,
Freddie DixonFrederick William Dixon was an English motorcycle racer and racing car driver. He was the designer of the motorcycle and banking sidecar system. He was also one of the few motorsport competitors to have been successful on two, three and four wheels. He was twice awarded the BRDC Gold Star...
, was responsible for extensive improvements to engine and chassis tuning, creating a number of 'specials' that exploited the basic Riley design still further, and contributed greatly to its success on the track.
For series production, the engine configuration was extended into a larger 12 horsepower '4', six cylinder and even V8 versions, powering an increasingly bewildering range of touring and sports cars. The soundness and longevity of the engine design is illustrated by Mike Hawthorn's early racing success after WW2 in pre-war Rileys, in particular his father's Sprite. But by about 1936 the company had overextended, with too many models and few common parts, and the emergence of
JaguarJaguar Cars Ltd, known simply as Jaguar , is a British luxury car manufacturer, headquartered in Whitley, Coventry, England. It is part of the Jaguar Land Rover business, a subsidiary of the Indian company Tata Motors....
at Coventry was a direct challenge. Disagreements between the Riley brothers about the future direction of the enterprise grew. Victor Riley had set up a new ultra-luxury concern,
AutoviaAutovia was a short lived brand of British car from Coventry existing from 1935 to 1938 with production starting in 1936. The venture was ambitious and even included setting up a school for chauffeurs. The cars were expensive and it was a market sector well served by other companies...
, to produce a V8 saloon and limousine to compete with
Rolls-RoyceRolls-Royce Limited was a renowned British car and, from 1914 on, aero-engine manufacturing company founded by Charles Stewart Rolls and Henry Royce on 15 March 1906 as the result of a partnership formed in 1904....
. By contrast, Percy, however, did not favour an entry into the luxury market, and the Riley Engine Company had been renamed PR Motors to be a high-volume supplier of engines and components. Although the rest of the Riley companies would go on to become part of
NuffieldNuffield may refer to:*Nuffield College, Oxford, one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom*Nuffield Foundation, a British charitable trust, established in 1943 by William Morris...
and then
BMCThe British Motor Corporation, or commonly known as BMC was a vehicle manufacturer from United Kingdom, formed by the merger of the Austin Motor Company and the Nuffield Organisation in 1952...
, PR Motors remained independent. After the death of Percy Riley in 1941, the company began producing
transmissionA machine consists of a power source and a power transmission system, which provides controlled application of the power. Merriam-Webster defines transmission as: an assembly of parts including the speed-changing gears and the propeller shaft by which the power is transmitted from an engine to a...
components and still exists today as PRM Marine Limited (formally Newage Transmissions) based in Aldermans Green, Coventry. Percy's widow Norah ran the company for many years and was Britain's businesswoman of the year in 1960.
Nuffield Organisation
By 1937, Riley began to look to other manufacturers for partnerships. A contract with Briggs Motor Bodies of Dagenham to provide all-steel bodies for a cheaper, more mass-market saloon had already turned sour, with dozens of unsold bodies littering the factory. It had withdrawn from works racing after its most successful year, 1934, although it continued to supply engines for the
ERAEnglish Racing Automobiles was a British racing car manufacturer active from 1933 to 1954. Currently the ERA trademark is owned by a British kit-car manufacturer.-Prewar history:...
, a voiturette (Formula 2) racing car based on the supercharged 6-cylinder 'White Riley', developed by ERA founder Raymond Mays in the mid-thirties.
BMWBayerische Motoren Werke AG is a German automobile, motorcycle and engine manufacturing company founded in 1916. It also owns and produces the Mini marque, and is the parent company of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. BMW produces motorcycles under BMW Motorrad and Husqvarna brands...
of
MunichMunich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
, Germany was interested in expanding its range into England. But the Riley brothers were more interested in a larger British concern, and looked to
Triumph Motor CompanyThe Triumph Motor Company was a British car and motor manufacturing company. The Triumph marque is owned currently by BMW. The marque had its origins in 1885 when Siegfried Bettmann of Nuremberg initiated S. Bettmann & Co and started importing bicycles from Europe and selling them with his own...
, also of Coventry, as a natural fit. In February, 1938, all negotiations collapsed as Riley (Coventry) and Autovia went into receivership.
Both companies were purchased by
Lord NuffieldWilliam Richard Morris, 1st Viscount Nuffield GBE, CH , known as Sir William Morris, Bt, between 1929 and 1934 and as The Lord Nuffield between 1934 and 1938, was a British motor manufacturer and philanthropist...
for
£The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
143,000 and operated by Victor Riley as Riley (Coventry) Successors. It was quickly sold to Nuffield's
Morris Motor CompanyThe Morris Motor Company was a British car manufacturing company. After the incorporation of the company into larger corporations, the Morris name remained in use as a marque until 1984 when British Leyland's Austin Rover Group decided to concentrate on the more popular Austin marque...
for £1, with the combination coming to be called the
Nuffield OrganisationThe Nuffield Organisation was a vehicle manufacturing company in the United Kingdom. Named after its founder, William Morris, 1st Viscount Nuffield, it was formed in 1938 as the merger of Nuffield's Morris Motor Company , another of Nuffield's companies the MG Car Company and Riley.Morris Motors...
.
Nuffield took quick measures to firm up the company. Autovia was no more, with just 35 cars having been produced. Riley refocused on the 4-cylinder market with two engines: A 1.5 litre 12 hp engine and the "Big Four", a 2.5 litre 16 hp unit (The hp figures are RAC Rating, and bear no relationship to bhp or kW). Only a few bodies were produced, and some components were shared with Morris for economies of scale.
After World War II, the restarted Riley Motors took up the old engines in new models, based in concept on the 1936-8 'Continental'. The
RMAThe Riley RM Series was the last automobile series developed independently by Riley. RM vehicles were produced from 1945, after the Second World War, through the 1952 merger of the Riley's Nuffield Organisation with Austin to form BMC. They were originally made in Coventry, but in 1949 production...
used the 1.5 litre engine, while the
RMBThe Riley RM Series was the last automobile series developed independently by Riley. RM vehicles were produced from 1945, after the Second World War, through the 1952 merger of the Riley's Nuffield Organisation with Austin to form BMC. They were originally made in Coventry, but in 1949 production...
got the Big Four. The RM line of vehicles, sold under the "Magnificent Motoring" tag line, were to be the company's high point. They featured a front
independent suspensionIndependent suspension is a broad term for any automobile suspension system that allows each wheel on the same axle to move vertically independently of each other. This is contrasted with a beam axle, live axle or deDion axle system in which the wheels are linked – movement on one side affects...
and steering system inspired by the
CitroënCitroën is a major French automobile manufacturer, part of the PSA Peugeot Citroën group.Founded in 1919 by French industrialist André-Gustave Citroën , Citroën was the first mass-production car company outside the USA and pioneered the modern concept of creating a sales and services network that...
Traction AvantThe Citroën Traction Avant is an automobile which was produced by the French manufacturer Citroën from 1934 to 1957. About 760,000 units were produced.-Impact on the world:...
. Their flowing lines were particularly well-balanced, marrying pre-war 'coachbuilt' elegance to more modern features, such as headlamps faired-in to the front wings. The RMC, a 3 seater roadster was an unsuccessful attempt to break into the American market, while the RMD was an elegant 4/5-seater two door drophead, of which again few were made. The 1.5 litre RME and 2.5 litre RMF were later developments of the saloon versions, which continued in production into the mid-fifties.
Victor Riley was removed by Nuffield in 1947, and the Coventry works were shut down as production was consolidated with
MGThe MG Car Company is a former British sports car manufacturer founded in the 1920s by Cecil Kimber. Best known for its two-seat open sports cars, MG also produced saloons and coupés....
at Abingdon. Nuffield's marques were then organised in a similar way to those of General Motors:
MorrisThe Morris Motor Company was a British car manufacturing company. After the incorporation of the company into larger corporations, the Morris name remained in use as a marque until 1984 when British Leyland's Austin Rover Group decided to concentrate on the more popular Austin marque...
was the value line, and
WolseleyThe Wolseley Motor Company was a British automobile manufacturer founded in 1901. After 1935 it was incorporated into larger companies but the Wolseley name remained as an upmarket marque until 1975.-History:...
the luxury marque. MG largely offered spartan performance, especially with their open sports cars, while Riley sought to be both sporty and luxurious. With Wolseley also fighting for the top position, however, the range was crowded and confused.
British Motor Corporation
The confusion became critical in 1952 with the merger of Nuffield and
AustinThe Austin Motor Company was a British manufacturer of automobiles. The company was founded in 1905 and merged in 1952 into the British Motor Corporation Ltd. The marque Austin was used until 1987...
as the
British Motor CorporationThe British Motor Corporation, or commonly known as BMC was a vehicle manufacturer from United Kingdom, formed by the merger of the Austin Motor Company and the Nuffield Organisation in 1952...
. Now, Riley was positioned between MG and Wolseley and most Riley models would become, like those, little more than
badge-engineeredBadge engineering is an ironic term that describes the rebadging of one product as another...
versions of Austin/Morris designs.
The first all-new Riley under BMC, however, was designated the RMH, and because of its distinctive engine and suspension design, has been called 'the last real Riley'. This was the
PathfinderFirst presented at the London Motor Show in October 1953, the Pathfinder replaced the RMF as Riley's top-line car.Designed as the "RMH" just before the 1952 merger of Riley-parent, the Nuffield Organisation, with Austin to form BMC, the Pathfinder is seen as the last proper Riley car...
, with Riley's familiar 2.5 litre four developed to produce 110 bhp. (The RMG 'Wayfarer', a projected 1.5 litre version, was rejected as underpowered). The body was later reworked and with a different engine and rear suspension, sold as the
Wolseley 6/90The Wolseley 6/90 was a car from the British Wolseley Motor Company, produced from 1954-59, which replaced the 6/80 as the company's flagship model. It was badged as the Six-Ninety on the bonnet and 6/90 on the bootlid....
. The Riley lost its distinct (though subtle) differences in 1958, and the 6/90 of that year was available badge engineered as a
Riley Two-Point-SixThe Two-Point-Six replaced the Riley Pathfinder as Riley's top-line automobile. While its predecessor retained the Riley twin cam, cross flow motor, the Two-Point-Six was almost identical to the Wolseley Six-Ninety Series III...
. Although this was the only postwar 6-cylinder Riley, its
C-SeriesThe BMC C-Series was a straight-6 automobile engine produced from 1956 to 1971. Unlike the Austin designed A and B-series engines, it came from the Morris engines drawing office in Coventry...
engine was actually less powerful than the Riley Big Four that it replaced. This was to be the last large Riley, with the model dropped in May 1959 and the company refocusing on the under-2 litre segment.
Riley and Wolseley were linked in small cars as well. Launched in 1957, the
Riley One-Point-FiveThe Riley One-Point-Five and similar Wolseley 1500 were motor vehicles based on the Morris Minor floorpan, suspension and steering but fitted with the larger 1489 cc B-Series engine and MG Magnette gearbox...
and Wolseley 1500 were reworked
Morris MinorThe Morris Minor was a British economy car that debuted at the Earls Court Motor Show, London, on 20 September 1948. Designed under the leadership of Alec Issigonis, more than 1.3 million were manufactured between 1948 and 1971...
s. They shared their exteriors, but the Riley was marketed as the more performance-oriented option, having an uprated engine, twin S.U. carburetters and a close-ratio gearbox. With its good handling, compact, sports-saloon styling and well-appointed interior, the One-Point-Five quite successfully recaptured the character of the 1930s light saloons.
At the top of the Riley line for April 1959 was the new
Riley 4/Sixty-EightThe Riley 4/68 and 4/72 are cars produced by BMC from 1959 through the 1960s. They are related to the Pinin Farina-designed Austin A55 Cambridge, MG Magnette Mk...
saloon. Again, it was merely a badge-engineered version of other BMC models. The steering was perhaps the worst feature of the car, being Austin-derived cam and peg rather than the rack and pinion of the One-Point-Five. Overall, it could not provide the sharp and positive drive associated with previous Rileys, being based on the humble
Austin CambridgeThe Austin Cambridge is a motor car range sold by the Austin Motor Company in several generations from September 1954 through to 1969 as cars and 1971 as light commercials. It replaced the A40 Somerset but was entirely new with modern unibody construction...
and
Morris OxfordAfter the Second World War the Oxford MO replaced the 10. It was introduced in 1948 and was produced until 1954. The design was shared with Nuffield Organisation stable-mate Wolseley 4/50....
. Sharing many features with the similarly upmarket
MG Magnette Mark IIIThe automobile manufacturer MG used the Magnette name on the K-type and N-type cars in the 1930s, but the Magnette models of the 1950s and 1960s are probably best-remembered...
and
Wolseley 15/60The Wolseley 15/60 was the first of the mid-sized Pinin Farina-styled automobiles from the British Motor Corporation . Launched in December 1958, the design would eventually be shared with seven other marques. All of the cars were updated in 1961 with a larger engine and new model designations...
, it was the most luxurious of the versions, which were all comfortable and spacious, and attractively styled by Farina. The car was refreshed, along with its siblings, in 1961 and rebadged the
4/Seventy-TwoThe Riley 4/68 and 4/72 are cars produced by BMC from 1959 through the 1960s. They are related to the Pinin Farina-designed Austin A55 Cambridge, MG Magnette Mk...
.
The early 1960s also saw the introduction of the
MiniThe Mini is a small car that was made by the British Motor Corporation and its successors from 1959 until 2000. The original is considered a British icon of the 1960s, and its space-saving front-wheel-drive layout influenced a generation of car-makers...
-based Riley Elf. Again, a Wolseley model (the
HornetWolseley Hornet was the name of two different British vehicles produce under the Wolseley Motor Company nameplate.* Wolseley Hornet , lightweight saloon car produced in the 1930s....
) was introduced simultaneously. This time, the Riley and Wolseley versions were differentiated visually and identical mechanically.
The final model of the BMC era was the Kestrel 1100/1300, based on the
AustinThe Austin Motor Company was a British manufacturer of automobiles. The company was founded in 1905 and merged in 1952 into the British Motor Corporation Ltd. The marque Austin was used until 1987...
/
MorrisThe Morris Motor Company was a British car manufacturing company. After the incorporation of the company into larger corporations, the Morris name remained in use as a marque until 1984 when British Leyland's Austin Rover Group decided to concentrate on the more popular Austin marque...
1100/1300 saloon. This also had stablemates in
WolseleyThe Wolseley Motor Company was a British automobile manufacturer founded in 1901. After 1935 it was incorporated into larger companies but the Wolseley name remained as an upmarket marque until 1975.-History:...
and MG versions. Following objections from diehard Riley enthusiasts, the Kestrel name was dropped for the last facelift in 1968, the Riley 1300.
Between 1966 and 1968 a series of mergers took place in the British motor industry, ultimately creating the
British Leyland Motor CorporationBritish Leyland was a vehicle manufacturing company formed in the United Kingdom in 1968 as British Leyland Motor Corporation Ltd . It was partly nationalised in 1975 with the government creating a new holding company called British Leyland Ltd which became BL Ltd in 1978...
, whose management embarked on a programme of rationalisation- in which the Riley marque was an early casualty. A BLMC press release dated 9 July 1969 announced "today that all Riley models produced at British Leyland's Austin-Morris division will be discontinued".
In spite of the decline of the marque under
BMC-In business and organizations:* Beard Miller Company, a US public accounting firm* BioMed Central, a UK-based scientific publisher* BMC , a Turkish vehicle manufacturer...
, surviving well-preserved examples of the period are now considered desirable classics, the Riley 'face' and badge lending a distinctive character. The needs of enthusiasts are met by the Riley Motor Club, the original factory Club founded in 1925.
The future
Riley production ended with the 1960s, and the marque became dormant. The last Riley badged car was produced in 1969. For many enthusiasts, however, the name of Riley still has resonance into the 21st century. Many of the original racing Rileys compete regularly in VSCC (Vintage Sports Car Club) events, and pre-war racing 'specials' continue to be created (controversially) from tired or derelict saloons. For a short while, following BMW's purchase of the Rover Group in 1994, there were hopes that Riley might be revived,the then Chairman
Bernd PischetsriederDr. Bernd Peter Pischetsrieder is a German automobile engineer and manager.He was born in Munich, Bavaria, and studied Mechanical Engineering at the Technical University of Munich from 1968 to 1972. He earned the degree of "Diplom-Ingenieur", and began his career at BMW in 1973 as a Production...
being an enthusiast for many of the defunct British marques. After
BMWBayerische Motoren Werke AG is a German automobile, motorcycle and engine manufacturing company founded in 1916. It also owns and produces the Mini marque, and is the parent company of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. BMW produces motorcycles under BMW Motorrad and Husqvarna brands...
's divestment of the
MG Rover GroupMG Rover was the last domestically owned mass-production car manufacturer in the British motor industry. The company was formed when BMW sold the car-making and engine manufacturing assets of the original Rover Group to the Phoenix Consortium in 2000....
in 2000, and Pischetsrieder's removal, however, these hopes faded; though the rights to the
TriumphThe Triumph Motor Company was a British car and motor manufacturing company. The Triumph marque is owned currently by BMW. The marque had its origins in 1885 when Siegfried Bettmann of Nuremberg initiated S. Bettmann & Co and started importing bicycles from Europe and selling them with his own...
and Riley marques, along with Mini/MINI were retained by BMW.
In 2007, William Riley, who claims to be a descendant of the Riley family, although this has been disputed, formed
MG Sports and Racing EuropeMG Sports and Racing Europe Limited was a British automotive company based in Eardiston, Tenbury Wells in Worcestershire. The company was founded by William Riley, who acquired assets of the MG Sport and Racing subsidiary of MG Rover Group after its demise, with the intention of restarting...
Ltd. This company acquired assets relating to the
MG XPower SVThe MG XPower SV is a sports car which was produced by MG Rover. Manufactured in Modena, Italy and finished at Longbridge, UK, it was based on the platform of the Qvale Mangusta, formerly the De Tomaso Biguà.-History:...
sportscar from
PricewaterhouseCoopersPricewaterhouseCoopers is a global professional services firm headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the world's largest professional services firm measured by revenues and one of the "Big Four" accountancy firms....
, the administrators of the defunct MG Rover Group, and intended to continue production of the model as the MG XPower WR.
In September 2010 the motor magazine 'Autocar' reported that BMW were considering the revival of the Riley brand in the form of a variant of the redesigned MINI to be introduced in 2013.
http://www.autocar.co.uk/News/NewsArticle/AllCars/252508/ This would most likely be a luxury version taking its cues from the 'Elf' of 1961-9, with a 'notchback' (booted) body, and the interior trimmed in wood and leather in the manner of earlier Rileys. No sources were quoted, however, and until an announcement is made by the Company, such information must be regarded as speculative.
Pre-World War I
- 1907–1911 Riley 9
- 1907–1907 Riley 12
- 1909–1914 Riley 10
- 1908–1914 Riley 12/18
- 1915–1916 Riley 10
Inter-war years
- 1913–1922 Riley 17/30
- 1919–1924 Riley Eleven
- 1925–1928 Riley Twelve
- 1926–1937 Riley Nine
thumb|250px|Riley Nine Kestrel Saloon 1933The Riley Nine was one of the most successful light cars produced by the British motor industry in the inter war period. It was made by the Riley company of Coventry, England with a wide range of body styles between 1926 and 1938.The car was largely...
- 1927–1931 Riley Brooklands
- 1928–1937 Riley Six
- 1929–1934 Riley 14/6
- 1933–1935 Riley 12/6
A Riley 12/6 was a car made by the British Riley company from 1933 to 1935.It had a 1458cc straight six engine with twin cams and either twin or triple S.U carburettors. The transmission was either a four speed manual or optional preselector gearbox. They were capable of a top speed of around 70mph...
- 1934–1935 Riley Imp
- 1934–1935 Riley MPH
The Riley MPH is a small production, two seat, sports car made between 1934 and 1935 by the Riley company of Coventry, England. Very few were made and examples are now highly sought after....
- 1935–1938 Riley 15/6
- 1935–1938 Riley 1
{{About|the British car manufacturer|the American racing-car manufacturer|Riley Technologies}}
Riley was a British motorcarAn automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
and bicycleA bicycle, also known as a bike, pushbike or cycle, is a human-powered, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A person who rides a bicycle is called a cyclist, or bicyclist....
manufacturer from 1890. The company became part of the Nuffield OrganisationThe Nuffield Organisation was a vehicle manufacturing company in the United Kingdom. Named after its founder, William Morris, 1st Viscount Nuffield, it was formed in 1938 as the merger of Nuffield's Morris Motor Company , another of Nuffield's companies the MG Car Company and Riley.Morris Motors...
in 1938 and was later merged into British LeylandBritish Leyland was a vehicle manufacturing company formed in the United Kingdom in 1968 as British Leyland Motor Corporation Ltd . It was partly nationalised in 1975 with the government creating a new holding company called British Leyland Ltd which became BL Ltd in 1978...
: late in 1969 British Leyland announced their discontinuance of Riley production, although 1969 was a difficult year for the UK auto industry and so a number of cars from the company's inventory are likely to have been first registered only in 1970.
Today, the Riley trademark is owned by BMWBayerische Motoren Werke AG is a German automobile, motorcycle and engine manufacturing company founded in 1916. It also owns and produces the Mini marque, and is the parent company of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. BMW produces motorcycles under BMW Motorrad and Husqvarna brands...
.
Riley Cycle Company
Riley began as the Bonnick Cycle Company of CoventryCoventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...
, England. During the pedal cycle craze that swept Britain at the end of the 19th century, in 1890, William Riley Jr. purchased the company and in 1896 renamed it the Riley Cycle Company. Later, cycle gear maker Sturmey Archer was added to the portfolio. Riley's younger son, Percy, left school in the same year and soon began to dabble in automobileAn automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
s. He built his first car at 16, in 1898, secretly, because his father did not approve. It featured the first mechanically operated inlet valve. By 1899, Percy Riley moved from producing motorcycleA motorcycle is a single-track, two-wheeled motor vehicle. Motorcycles vary considerably depending on the task for which they are designed, such as long distance travel, navigating congested urban traffic, cruising, sport and racing, or off-road conditions.Motorcycles are one of the most...
s to his first prototype four-wheeled quadricycle. Little is known about Percy Riley's first "motor-car". It is, however, well attested that the engine featured mechanically operated cylinder valves at a time when other engines depended on the vacuum effect of the descending piston to suck the inlet valve(s) open. That was demonstrated some years later when Benz developed and patented a mechanically operated inlet valve process of their own but were unable to collect royalties on their system from British companies; the courts were persuaded that the system used by British auto-makers was based the one pioneered by Percy, which had comfortably anticipated equivalent developments in Germany. In 1900, Riley sold a single three-wheeled automobile. Meanwhile the elder of the Riley brothers, Victor Riley, although supportive of his brother's embryonic motor-car enterprise, devoted his energies to the core bicycle business.
Company founder William Riley remained resolutely opposed to diverting the resources of his bicycle business into motor cars, and in 1902 three of his sons, Victor, Percy and younger brother Alan Riley pooled resources, borrowed a necessary balancing amount from their mother and in 1903 established the separate Riley Engine Company, also in Coventry. A few years later the other two Riley brothers, Stanley and Cecil, having left school joined their elder brothers in the business. At first, the Riley Engine Company simply supplied engines for Riley motorcycles and also to SingerSinger was an automobile company founded in 1905 in Coventry, England. It was acquired by the Rootes Group of the United Kingdom in 1956, who continued the brand until 1970...
, a newly emerging motor cycle manufacturer in the area, but the Riley Engine Company company soon began to focus on four-wheeled automobiles. Their Vee-Twin Tourer prototype, produced in 1905, can be considered the first proper Riley car. The Engine Company expanded the next year. William Riley reversed his former opposition to his sons' preference for motorised vehicles and Riley Cycle halted motorcycle production in 1907 to focus on automobiles. Bicycle production also ceased in 1911.
In 1912, the Riley Cycle Company changed its name to Riley (Coventry) Limited as William Riley focused it on becoming a wire-spoked wheel supplier for the burgeoning motor industry, the detachable wheel having been invented (and patented) by Percy and distributed to over 180 motor manufacturers, and by 1912 the father's business had also dropped automobile manufacture in order to concentrate capacity and resources on the wheels. Exploitation of this new and rapidly expanding lucrative business sector made commercial sense for William Riley, but the abandonment of his motor-bicycle and then of his automobile business which had been the principal customer for his sons' Riley Engine Company enforced a rethink on the Engine Company.
Riley Motor Manufacturing
In early 1913, Percy was joined by three of his brothers (Victor, Stanley, and Allan) in a new business focused on manufacturing entire automobiles. This Riley Motor Manufacturing Company was located near Percy's Riley Engine Company. The first new model, the 17/30, was introduced at the London Motor Show that year. Soon afterwards, Stanley Riley founded yet another company, the Nero Engine Company, to produce his own 4-cylinder 10 hp (7.5 kW) car. Riley also began manufacturing aeroplaneA fixed-wing aircraft is an aircraft capable of flight using wings that generate lift due to the vehicle's forward airspeed. Fixed-wing aircraft are distinct from rotary-wing aircraft in which wings rotate about a fixed mast and ornithopters in which lift is generated by flapping wings.A powered...
engines and became a key supplier in Britain's buildup for World War I.
In 1918, after the war, the Riley companies were restructured. Nero joined Riley (Coventry) as the sole producer of automobiles. Riley Motor Manufacturing came under the control of Allan Riley to become Midland Motor Bodies, a coachbuilderA coachbuilder is a manufacturer of bodies for carriages or automobiles.The trade dates back several centuries. Rippon was active in the time of Queen Elizabeth I, Barker founded in 1710 by an officer in Queen Anne's Guards, Brewster a relative newcomer , formed in 1810. Others in Britain included...
for Riley. Riley Engine Company continued under Percy as the engine supplier. At this time, Riley's blue diamond badge, designed by Harry Rush, also appeared. The motto was "As old as the industry, as modern as the hour."
Riley grew rapidly through the 1920s and 1930s. The Riley Engine Company produced 4-, 6-, and 8-cylinder engines, while Midland built more than a dozen different bodies. Riley models at this time included:
- Saloons: Adelphi, Continental, Deauville, Falcon, Kestrel, Mentone, Merlin, Monaco, Stelvio, Victor
- Coupes: Ascot, Lincock
- Tourers: Alpine, Lynx, Gamecock
- Sports: Brooklands, Imp, MPH, Sprite
- Limousines: Edinburgh, Winchester
Introduced in 1926 in a humble but innovatively designed fabricWeymann Fabric Bodies is a patented design system for fuselages for aircraft and superlight coachwork for motor vehicles. The system used a patent-jointed wood frame covered in fabric...
bodied saloon, Percy Riley's ground-breaking Riley 9 engine- a small capacity, high revving unit- was ahead of its time in many respects. Having hemispherical combustion chambers and inclined overhead valves, it has been called the most significant engine development of the 1920s. With twin camshafts set high in the cylinder block and valves operated by short pushrods, it provided power and efficiency without the servicing complexity of an OHC (overhead camshaft) layout. It soon attracted the attention of tuners and builders of 'specials' intended for sporting purposes. One such was engineer/driver J.G. Parry-ThomasJohn Godfrey Parry-Thomas was a Welsh engineer and motor-racing driver who at one time held the Land Speed Record. He was the first driver to be killed in pursuit of the land speed record....
, who conceived the Riley 'Brooklands' model in his workshops at the banked Surrey circuit. After Parry-Thomas was killed during a land speed record attempt in 1927, his close collaborator Reid Railton stepped in to finish the job. Officially backed by the Riley company, the Brooklands, along with later developments and variations such as the 'Ulster' Imp, MPH, and Sprite, proved some of the most successful works and privateer racing cars of the late 1920s and early 1930s. At Le MansThe 24 Hours of Le Mans is the world's oldest sports car race in endurance racing, held annually since near the town of Le Mans, France. Commonly known as the Grand Prix of Endurance and Efficiency, race teams have to balance speed against the cars' ability to run for 24 hours without sustaining...
in 1934, Rileys finished 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 6th and 12th, winning the Rudge Whitworth Cup, the Team Prize, two class awards, and the Ladies' Prize. Rileys also distinguished themselves at the Ulster TT, at BrooklandsBrooklands was a motor racing circuit and aerodrome built near Weybridge in Surrey, England. It opened in 1907, and was the world's first purpose-built motorsport venue, as well as one of Britain's first airfields...
itself, and at smaller events like hill climbs, while providing a platform for the success of motorsports' first women racing drivers such as Kay Petre, Dorothy Champney and Joan Richmond. Another engineer/driver, Freddie DixonFrederick William Dixon was an English motorcycle racer and racing car driver. He was the designer of the motorcycle and banking sidecar system. He was also one of the few motorsport competitors to have been successful on two, three and four wheels. He was twice awarded the BRDC Gold Star...
, was responsible for extensive improvements to engine and chassis tuning, creating a number of 'specials' that exploited the basic Riley design still further, and contributed greatly to its success on the track.
For series production, the engine configuration was extended into a larger 12 horsepower '4', six cylinder and even V8 versions, powering an increasingly bewildering range of touring and sports cars. The soundness and longevity of the engine design is illustrated by Mike Hawthorn's early racing success after WW2 in pre-war Rileys, in particular his father's Sprite. But by about 1936 the company had overextended, with too many models and few common parts, and the emergence of JaguarJaguar Cars Ltd, known simply as Jaguar , is a British luxury car manufacturer, headquartered in Whitley, Coventry, England. It is part of the Jaguar Land Rover business, a subsidiary of the Indian company Tata Motors....
at Coventry was a direct challenge. Disagreements between the Riley brothers about the future direction of the enterprise grew. Victor Riley had set up a new ultra-luxury concern, AutoviaAutovia was a short lived brand of British car from Coventry existing from 1935 to 1938 with production starting in 1936. The venture was ambitious and even included setting up a school for chauffeurs. The cars were expensive and it was a market sector well served by other companies...
, to produce a V8 saloon and limousine to compete with Rolls-RoyceRolls-Royce Limited was a renowned British car and, from 1914 on, aero-engine manufacturing company founded by Charles Stewart Rolls and Henry Royce on 15 March 1906 as the result of a partnership formed in 1904....
. By contrast, Percy, however, did not favour an entry into the luxury market, and the Riley Engine Company had been renamed PR Motors to be a high-volume supplier of engines and components. Although the rest of the Riley companies would go on to become part of NuffieldNuffield may refer to:*Nuffield College, Oxford, one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom*Nuffield Foundation, a British charitable trust, established in 1943 by William Morris...
and then BMCThe British Motor Corporation, or commonly known as BMC was a vehicle manufacturer from United Kingdom, formed by the merger of the Austin Motor Company and the Nuffield Organisation in 1952...
, PR Motors remained independent. After the death of Percy Riley in 1941, the company began producing transmissionA machine consists of a power source and a power transmission system, which provides controlled application of the power. Merriam-Webster defines transmission as: an assembly of parts including the speed-changing gears and the propeller shaft by which the power is transmitted from an engine to a...
components and still exists today as PRM Marine Limited (formally Newage Transmissions) based in Aldermans Green, Coventry. Percy's widow Norah ran the company for many years and was Britain's businesswoman of the year in 1960.
{{Gallery
|title=Riley Motor Manufacturing Co saloons and coupés
|width=120
|height=150
|lines=3
|align=center
|Image:Riley Gamecock 2-Seater 1932.jpg|Gamecock 2-Seater 1932
|Image:Riley Lynx Tourer 1934.jpg|Lynx Tourer 1934
|Image:Riley Lincock Fixedhead Coupe 1934.jpg|Lincock Fixedhead Coupé 1934
|Image:riley.falcon.arp.750pix.jpg|12/4 Falcon 1935
|Image:Riley 12 4 Kestrel Saloon 1935 2.jpg|12/4 Kestrel Saloon 1935
|Image:Riley 15 6 Adelphi Six Light Saloon 1935.jpg|15/6 Adelphi Six Light Saloon 1935
|Image:Riley 12 4 Lynx Sports Tourer 1937.jpg|12/4 Lynx Sports Tourer 1937
|Image:Riley Continental 1937.jpg|12/4 Continental 1937
|File:Riley of 1930s or 1940s.JPG|12/4
End of the line
}}
{{Gallery
|title=Riley Motor Manufacturing Co sports and racing cars
|width=120
|height=150
|lines=3
|align=center
|File:Riley Brooklands 1930,Belem.jpg|Brooklands 1930
|Image:Riley MPH 2-Seater Sports 1934.jpg|MPH 2-Seater Sports 1934
|Image:Riley 12 4 Sprite 2-Seater Sports 1936.jpg|12/4 Sprite 2-Seater Sports 1936
|Image:Riley 12 4 Sprite 2-Seater Sports 1934.jpg|Heavily modified 12/4 Sprite 2-Seater Sports 1934
|Image:Riley 12 4 1,5-Litre Special 1937.jpg|12/4 1½-Litre Special 1937
}}
Nuffield Organisation
By 1937, Riley began to look to other manufacturers for partnerships. A contract with Briggs Motor Bodies of Dagenham to provide all-steel bodies for a cheaper, more mass-market saloon had already turned sour, with dozens of unsold bodies littering the factory. It had withdrawn from works racing after its most successful year, 1934, although it continued to supply engines for the ERAEnglish Racing Automobiles was a British racing car manufacturer active from 1933 to 1954. Currently the ERA trademark is owned by a British kit-car manufacturer.-Prewar history:...
, a voiturette (Formula 2) racing car based on the supercharged 6-cylinder 'White Riley', developed by ERA founder Raymond Mays in the mid-thirties. BMWBayerische Motoren Werke AG is a German automobile, motorcycle and engine manufacturing company founded in 1916. It also owns and produces the Mini marque, and is the parent company of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. BMW produces motorcycles under BMW Motorrad and Husqvarna brands...
of MunichMunich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
, Germany was interested in expanding its range into England. But the Riley brothers were more interested in a larger British concern, and looked to Triumph Motor CompanyThe Triumph Motor Company was a British car and motor manufacturing company. The Triumph marque is owned currently by BMW. The marque had its origins in 1885 when Siegfried Bettmann of Nuremberg initiated S. Bettmann & Co and started importing bicycles from Europe and selling them with his own...
, also of Coventry, as a natural fit. In February, 1938, all negotiations collapsed as Riley (Coventry) and Autovia went into receivership.
Both companies were purchased by Lord NuffieldWilliam Richard Morris, 1st Viscount Nuffield GBE, CH , known as Sir William Morris, Bt, between 1929 and 1934 and as The Lord Nuffield between 1934 and 1938, was a British motor manufacturer and philanthropist...
for £The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
143,000 and operated by Victor Riley as Riley (Coventry) Successors. It was quickly sold to Nuffield's Morris Motor CompanyThe Morris Motor Company was a British car manufacturing company. After the incorporation of the company into larger corporations, the Morris name remained in use as a marque until 1984 when British Leyland's Austin Rover Group decided to concentrate on the more popular Austin marque...
for £1, with the combination coming to be called the Nuffield OrganisationThe Nuffield Organisation was a vehicle manufacturing company in the United Kingdom. Named after its founder, William Morris, 1st Viscount Nuffield, it was formed in 1938 as the merger of Nuffield's Morris Motor Company , another of Nuffield's companies the MG Car Company and Riley.Morris Motors...
.
Nuffield took quick measures to firm up the company. Autovia was no more, with just 35 cars having been produced. Riley refocused on the 4-cylinder market with two engines: A 1.5 litre 12 hp engine and the "Big Four", a 2.5 litre 16 hp unit (The hp figures are RAC Rating, and bear no relationship to bhp or kW). Only a few bodies were produced, and some components were shared with Morris for economies of scale.
After World War II, the restarted Riley Motors took up the old engines in new models, based in concept on the 1936-8 'Continental'. The RMAThe Riley RM Series was the last automobile series developed independently by Riley. RM vehicles were produced from 1945, after the Second World War, through the 1952 merger of the Riley's Nuffield Organisation with Austin to form BMC. They were originally made in Coventry, but in 1949 production...
used the 1.5 litre engine, while the RMBThe Riley RM Series was the last automobile series developed independently by Riley. RM vehicles were produced from 1945, after the Second World War, through the 1952 merger of the Riley's Nuffield Organisation with Austin to form BMC. They were originally made in Coventry, but in 1949 production...
got the Big Four. The RM line of vehicles, sold under the "Magnificent Motoring" tag line, were to be the company's high point. They featured a front independent suspensionIndependent suspension is a broad term for any automobile suspension system that allows each wheel on the same axle to move vertically independently of each other. This is contrasted with a beam axle, live axle or deDion axle system in which the wheels are linked – movement on one side affects...
and steering system inspired by the CitroënCitroën is a major French automobile manufacturer, part of the PSA Peugeot Citroën group.Founded in 1919 by French industrialist André-Gustave Citroën , Citroën was the first mass-production car company outside the USA and pioneered the modern concept of creating a sales and services network that...
Traction AvantThe Citroën Traction Avant is an automobile which was produced by the French manufacturer Citroën from 1934 to 1957. About 760,000 units were produced.-Impact on the world:...
. Their flowing lines were particularly well-balanced, marrying pre-war 'coachbuilt' elegance to more modern features, such as headlamps faired-in to the front wings. The RMC, a 3 seater roadster was an unsuccessful attempt to break into the American market, while the RMD was an elegant 4/5-seater two door drophead, of which again few were made. The 1.5 litre RME and 2.5 litre RMF were later developments of the saloon versions, which continued in production into the mid-fifties.
Victor Riley was removed by Nuffield in 1947, and the Coventry works were shut down as production was consolidated with MGThe MG Car Company is a former British sports car manufacturer founded in the 1920s by Cecil Kimber. Best known for its two-seat open sports cars, MG also produced saloons and coupés....
at Abingdon. Nuffield's marques were then organised in a similar way to those of General Motors: MorrisThe Morris Motor Company was a British car manufacturing company. After the incorporation of the company into larger corporations, the Morris name remained in use as a marque until 1984 when British Leyland's Austin Rover Group decided to concentrate on the more popular Austin marque...
was the value line, and WolseleyThe Wolseley Motor Company was a British automobile manufacturer founded in 1901. After 1935 it was incorporated into larger companies but the Wolseley name remained as an upmarket marque until 1975.-History:...
the luxury marque. MG largely offered spartan performance, especially with their open sports cars, while Riley sought to be both sporty and luxurious. With Wolseley also fighting for the top position, however, the range was crowded and confused.
British Motor Corporation
The confusion became critical in 1952 with the merger of Nuffield and AustinThe Austin Motor Company was a British manufacturer of automobiles. The company was founded in 1905 and merged in 1952 into the British Motor Corporation Ltd. The marque Austin was used until 1987...
as the British Motor CorporationThe British Motor Corporation, or commonly known as BMC was a vehicle manufacturer from United Kingdom, formed by the merger of the Austin Motor Company and the Nuffield Organisation in 1952...
. Now, Riley was positioned between MG and Wolseley and most Riley models would become, like those, little more than badge-engineeredBadge engineering is an ironic term that describes the rebadging of one product as another...
versions of Austin/Morris designs.
The first all-new Riley under BMC, however, was designated the RMH, and because of its distinctive engine and suspension design, has been called 'the last real Riley'. This was the PathfinderFirst presented at the London Motor Show in October 1953, the Pathfinder replaced the RMF as Riley's top-line car.Designed as the "RMH" just before the 1952 merger of Riley-parent, the Nuffield Organisation, with Austin to form BMC, the Pathfinder is seen as the last proper Riley car...
, with Riley's familiar 2.5 litre four developed to produce 110 bhp. (The RMG 'Wayfarer', a projected 1.5 litre version, was rejected as underpowered). The body was later reworked and with a different engine and rear suspension, sold as the Wolseley 6/90The Wolseley 6/90 was a car from the British Wolseley Motor Company, produced from 1954-59, which replaced the 6/80 as the company's flagship model. It was badged as the Six-Ninety on the bonnet and 6/90 on the bootlid....
. The Riley lost its distinct (though subtle) differences in 1958, and the 6/90 of that year was available badge engineered as a Riley Two-Point-SixThe Two-Point-Six replaced the Riley Pathfinder as Riley's top-line automobile. While its predecessor retained the Riley twin cam, cross flow motor, the Two-Point-Six was almost identical to the Wolseley Six-Ninety Series III...
. Although this was the only postwar 6-cylinder Riley, its C-SeriesThe BMC C-Series was a straight-6 automobile engine produced from 1956 to 1971. Unlike the Austin designed A and B-series engines, it came from the Morris engines drawing office in Coventry...
engine was actually less powerful than the Riley Big Four that it replaced. This was to be the last large Riley, with the model dropped in May 1959 and the company refocusing on the under-2 litre segment.
Riley and Wolseley were linked in small cars as well. Launched in 1957, the Riley One-Point-FiveThe Riley One-Point-Five and similar Wolseley 1500 were motor vehicles based on the Morris Minor floorpan, suspension and steering but fitted with the larger 1489 cc B-Series engine and MG Magnette gearbox...
and Wolseley 1500 were reworked Morris MinorThe Morris Minor was a British economy car that debuted at the Earls Court Motor Show, London, on 20 September 1948. Designed under the leadership of Alec Issigonis, more than 1.3 million were manufactured between 1948 and 1971...
s. They shared their exteriors, but the Riley was marketed as the more performance-oriented option, having an uprated engine, twin S.U. carburetters and a close-ratio gearbox. With its good handling, compact, sports-saloon styling and well-appointed interior, the One-Point-Five quite successfully recaptured the character of the 1930s light saloons.
At the top of the Riley line for April 1959 was the new Riley 4/Sixty-EightThe Riley 4/68 and 4/72 are cars produced by BMC from 1959 through the 1960s. They are related to the Pinin Farina-designed Austin A55 Cambridge, MG Magnette Mk...
saloon. Again, it was merely a badge-engineered version of other BMC models. The steering was perhaps the worst feature of the car, being Austin-derived cam and peg rather than the rack and pinion of the One-Point-Five. Overall, it could not provide the sharp and positive drive associated with previous Rileys, being based on the humble Austin CambridgeThe Austin Cambridge is a motor car range sold by the Austin Motor Company in several generations from September 1954 through to 1969 as cars and 1971 as light commercials. It replaced the A40 Somerset but was entirely new with modern unibody construction...
and Morris OxfordAfter the Second World War the Oxford MO replaced the 10. It was introduced in 1948 and was produced until 1954. The design was shared with Nuffield Organisation stable-mate Wolseley 4/50....
. Sharing many features with the similarly upmarket MG Magnette Mark IIIThe automobile manufacturer MG used the Magnette name on the K-type and N-type cars in the 1930s, but the Magnette models of the 1950s and 1960s are probably best-remembered...
and Wolseley 15/60The Wolseley 15/60 was the first of the mid-sized Pinin Farina-styled automobiles from the British Motor Corporation . Launched in December 1958, the design would eventually be shared with seven other marques. All of the cars were updated in 1961 with a larger engine and new model designations...
, it was the most luxurious of the versions, which were all comfortable and spacious, and attractively styled by Farina. The car was refreshed, along with its siblings, in 1961 and rebadged the 4/Seventy-TwoThe Riley 4/68 and 4/72 are cars produced by BMC from 1959 through the 1960s. They are related to the Pinin Farina-designed Austin A55 Cambridge, MG Magnette Mk...
.
The early 1960s also saw the introduction of the MiniThe Mini is a small car that was made by the British Motor Corporation and its successors from 1959 until 2000. The original is considered a British icon of the 1960s, and its space-saving front-wheel-drive layout influenced a generation of car-makers...
-based Riley Elf. Again, a Wolseley model (the HornetWolseley Hornet was the name of two different British vehicles produce under the Wolseley Motor Company nameplate.* Wolseley Hornet , lightweight saloon car produced in the 1930s....
) was introduced simultaneously. This time, the Riley and Wolseley versions were differentiated visually and identical mechanically.
The final model of the BMC era was the Kestrel 1100/1300, based on the AustinThe Austin Motor Company was a British manufacturer of automobiles. The company was founded in 1905 and merged in 1952 into the British Motor Corporation Ltd. The marque Austin was used until 1987...
/MorrisThe Morris Motor Company was a British car manufacturing company. After the incorporation of the company into larger corporations, the Morris name remained in use as a marque until 1984 when British Leyland's Austin Rover Group decided to concentrate on the more popular Austin marque...
1100/1300 saloon. This also had stablemates in WolseleyThe Wolseley Motor Company was a British automobile manufacturer founded in 1901. After 1935 it was incorporated into larger companies but the Wolseley name remained as an upmarket marque until 1975.-History:...
and MG versions. Following objections from diehard Riley enthusiasts, the Kestrel name was dropped for the last facelift in 1968, the Riley 1300.
Between 1966 and 1968 a series of mergers took place in the British motor industry, ultimately creating the British Leyland Motor CorporationBritish Leyland was a vehicle manufacturing company formed in the United Kingdom in 1968 as British Leyland Motor Corporation Ltd . It was partly nationalised in 1975 with the government creating a new holding company called British Leyland Ltd which became BL Ltd in 1978...
, whose management embarked on a programme of rationalisation- in which the Riley marque was an early casualty. A BLMC press release dated 9 July 1969 announced "today that all Riley models produced at British Leyland's Austin-Morris division will be discontinued".
In spite of the decline of the marque under BMC-In business and organizations:* Beard Miller Company, a US public accounting firm* BioMed Central, a UK-based scientific publisher* BMC , a Turkish vehicle manufacturer...
, surviving well-preserved examples of the period are now considered desirable classics, the Riley 'face' and badge lending a distinctive character. The needs of enthusiasts are met by the Riley Motor Club, the original factory Club founded in 1925.
The future
Riley production ended with the 1960s, and the marque became dormant. The last Riley badged car was produced in 1969. For many enthusiasts, however, the name of Riley still has resonance into the 21st century. Many of the original racing Rileys compete regularly in VSCC (Vintage Sports Car Club) events, and pre-war racing 'specials' continue to be created (controversially) from tired or derelict saloons. For a short while, following BMW's purchase of the Rover Group in 1994, there were hopes that Riley might be revived,the then Chairman Bernd PischetsriederDr. Bernd Peter Pischetsrieder is a German automobile engineer and manager.He was born in Munich, Bavaria, and studied Mechanical Engineering at the Technical University of Munich from 1968 to 1972. He earned the degree of "Diplom-Ingenieur", and began his career at BMW in 1973 as a Production...
being an enthusiast for many of the defunct British marques. After BMWBayerische Motoren Werke AG is a German automobile, motorcycle and engine manufacturing company founded in 1916. It also owns and produces the Mini marque, and is the parent company of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. BMW produces motorcycles under BMW Motorrad and Husqvarna brands...
's divestment of the MG Rover GroupMG Rover was the last domestically owned mass-production car manufacturer in the British motor industry. The company was formed when BMW sold the car-making and engine manufacturing assets of the original Rover Group to the Phoenix Consortium in 2000....
in 2000, and Pischetsrieder's removal, however, these hopes faded; though the rights to the TriumphThe Triumph Motor Company was a British car and motor manufacturing company. The Triumph marque is owned currently by BMW. The marque had its origins in 1885 when Siegfried Bettmann of Nuremberg initiated S. Bettmann & Co and started importing bicycles from Europe and selling them with his own...
and Riley marques, along with Mini/MINI were retained by BMW.
In 2007, William Riley, who claims to be a descendant of the Riley family, although this has been disputed, formed MG Sports and Racing EuropeMG Sports and Racing Europe Limited was a British automotive company based in Eardiston, Tenbury Wells in Worcestershire. The company was founded by William Riley, who acquired assets of the MG Sport and Racing subsidiary of MG Rover Group after its demise, with the intention of restarting...
Ltd. This company acquired assets relating to the MG XPower SVThe MG XPower SV is a sports car which was produced by MG Rover. Manufactured in Modena, Italy and finished at Longbridge, UK, it was based on the platform of the Qvale Mangusta, formerly the De Tomaso Biguà.-History:...
sportscar from PricewaterhouseCoopersPricewaterhouseCoopers is a global professional services firm headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the world's largest professional services firm measured by revenues and one of the "Big Four" accountancy firms....
, the administrators of the defunct MG Rover Group, and intended to continue production of the model as the MG XPower WR.
In September 2010 the motor magazine 'Autocar' reported that BMW were considering the revival of the Riley brand in the form of a variant of the redesigned MINI to be introduced in 2013. http://www.autocar.co.uk/News/NewsArticle/AllCars/252508/ This would most likely be a luxury version taking its cues from the 'Elf' of 1961-9, with a 'notchback' (booted) body, and the interior trimmed in wood and leather in the manner of earlier Rileys. No sources were quoted, however, and until an announcement is made by the Company, such information must be regarded as speculative.
Pre-World War I
- 1907–1911 Riley 9
- 1907–1907 Riley 12
- 1909–1914 Riley 10
- 1908–1914 Riley 12/18
- 1915–1916 Riley 10
Inter-war years
- 1913–1922 Riley 17/30
- 1919–1924 Riley Eleven
- 1925–1928 Riley Twelve
- 1926–1937 Riley Nine
thumb|250px|Riley Nine Kestrel Saloon 1933The Riley Nine was one of the most successful light cars produced by the British motor industry in the inter war period. It was made by the Riley company of Coventry, England with a wide range of body styles between 1926 and 1938.The car was largely...
- 1927–1931 Riley Brooklands
- 1928–1937 Riley Six
- 1929–1934 Riley 14/6
- 1933–1935 Riley 12/6
A Riley 12/6 was a car made by the British Riley company from 1933 to 1935.It had a 1458cc straight six engine with twin cams and either twin or triple S.U carburettors. The transmission was either a four speed manual or optional preselector gearbox. They were capable of a top speed of around 70mph...
- 1934–1935 Riley Imp
- 1934–1935 Riley MPH
The Riley MPH is a small production, two seat, sports car made between 1934 and 1935 by the Riley company of Coventry, England. Very few were made and examples are now highly sought after....
- 1935–1938 Riley 15/6
- 1935–1938 Riley 1
{{About|the British car manufacturer|the American racing-car manufacturer|Riley Technologies}}
Riley was a British motorcarAn automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
and bicycleA bicycle, also known as a bike, pushbike or cycle, is a human-powered, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A person who rides a bicycle is called a cyclist, or bicyclist....
manufacturer from 1890. The company became part of the Nuffield OrganisationThe Nuffield Organisation was a vehicle manufacturing company in the United Kingdom. Named after its founder, William Morris, 1st Viscount Nuffield, it was formed in 1938 as the merger of Nuffield's Morris Motor Company , another of Nuffield's companies the MG Car Company and Riley.Morris Motors...
in 1938 and was later merged into British LeylandBritish Leyland was a vehicle manufacturing company formed in the United Kingdom in 1968 as British Leyland Motor Corporation Ltd . It was partly nationalised in 1975 with the government creating a new holding company called British Leyland Ltd which became BL Ltd in 1978...
: late in 1969 British Leyland announced their discontinuance of Riley production, although 1969 was a difficult year for the UK auto industry and so a number of cars from the company's inventory are likely to have been first registered only in 1970.
Today, the Riley trademark is owned by BMWBayerische Motoren Werke AG is a German automobile, motorcycle and engine manufacturing company founded in 1916. It also owns and produces the Mini marque, and is the parent company of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. BMW produces motorcycles under BMW Motorrad and Husqvarna brands...
.
Riley Cycle Company
Riley began as the Bonnick Cycle Company of CoventryCoventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...
, England. During the pedal cycle craze that swept Britain at the end of the 19th century, in 1890, William Riley Jr. purchased the company and in 1896 renamed it the Riley Cycle Company. Later, cycle gear maker Sturmey Archer was added to the portfolio. Riley's younger son, Percy, left school in the same year and soon began to dabble in automobileAn automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
s. He built his first car at 16, in 1898, secretly, because his father did not approve. It featured the first mechanically operated inlet valve. By 1899, Percy Riley moved from producing motorcycleA motorcycle is a single-track, two-wheeled motor vehicle. Motorcycles vary considerably depending on the task for which they are designed, such as long distance travel, navigating congested urban traffic, cruising, sport and racing, or off-road conditions.Motorcycles are one of the most...
s to his first prototype four-wheeled quadricycle. Little is known about Percy Riley's first "motor-car". It is, however, well attested that the engine featured mechanically operated cylinder valves at a time when other engines depended on the vacuum effect of the descending piston to suck the inlet valve(s) open. That was demonstrated some years later when Benz developed and patented a mechanically operated inlet valve process of their own but were unable to collect royalties on their system from British companies; the courts were persuaded that the system used by British auto-makers was based the one pioneered by Percy, which had comfortably anticipated equivalent developments in Germany. In 1900, Riley sold a single three-wheeled automobile. Meanwhile the elder of the Riley brothers, Victor Riley, although supportive of his brother's embryonic motor-car enterprise, devoted his energies to the core bicycle business.
Company founder William Riley remained resolutely opposed to diverting the resources of his bicycle business into motor cars, and in 1902 three of his sons, Victor, Percy and younger brother Alan Riley pooled resources, borrowed a necessary balancing amount from their mother and in 1903 established the separate Riley Engine Company, also in Coventry. A few years later the other two Riley brothers, Stanley and Cecil, having left school joined their elder brothers in the business. At first, the Riley Engine Company simply supplied engines for Riley motorcycles and also to SingerSinger was an automobile company founded in 1905 in Coventry, England. It was acquired by the Rootes Group of the United Kingdom in 1956, who continued the brand until 1970...
, a newly emerging motor cycle manufacturer in the area, but the Riley Engine Company company soon began to focus on four-wheeled automobiles. Their Vee-Twin Tourer prototype, produced in 1905, can be considered the first proper Riley car. The Engine Company expanded the next year. William Riley reversed his former opposition to his sons' preference for motorised vehicles and Riley Cycle halted motorcycle production in 1907 to focus on automobiles. Bicycle production also ceased in 1911.
In 1912, the Riley Cycle Company changed its name to Riley (Coventry) Limited as William Riley focused it on becoming a wire-spoked wheel supplier for the burgeoning motor industry, the detachable wheel having been invented (and patented) by Percy and distributed to over 180 motor manufacturers, and by 1912 the father's business had also dropped automobile manufacture in order to concentrate capacity and resources on the wheels. Exploitation of this new and rapidly expanding lucrative business sector made commercial sense for William Riley, but the abandonment of his motor-bicycle and then of his automobile business which had been the principal customer for his sons' Riley Engine Company enforced a rethink on the Engine Company.
Riley Motor Manufacturing
In early 1913, Percy was joined by three of his brothers (Victor, Stanley, and Allan) in a new business focused on manufacturing entire automobiles. This Riley Motor Manufacturing Company was located near Percy's Riley Engine Company. The first new model, the 17/30, was introduced at the London Motor Show that year. Soon afterwards, Stanley Riley founded yet another company, the Nero Engine Company, to produce his own 4-cylinder 10 hp (7.5 kW) car. Riley also began manufacturing aeroplaneA fixed-wing aircraft is an aircraft capable of flight using wings that generate lift due to the vehicle's forward airspeed. Fixed-wing aircraft are distinct from rotary-wing aircraft in which wings rotate about a fixed mast and ornithopters in which lift is generated by flapping wings.A powered...
engines and became a key supplier in Britain's buildup for World War I.
In 1918, after the war, the Riley companies were restructured. Nero joined Riley (Coventry) as the sole producer of automobiles. Riley Motor Manufacturing came under the control of Allan Riley to become Midland Motor Bodies, a coachbuilderA coachbuilder is a manufacturer of bodies for carriages or automobiles.The trade dates back several centuries. Rippon was active in the time of Queen Elizabeth I, Barker founded in 1710 by an officer in Queen Anne's Guards, Brewster a relative newcomer , formed in 1810. Others in Britain included...
for Riley. Riley Engine Company continued under Percy as the engine supplier. At this time, Riley's blue diamond badge, designed by Harry Rush, also appeared. The motto was "As old as the industry, as modern as the hour."
Riley grew rapidly through the 1920s and 1930s. The Riley Engine Company produced 4-, 6-, and 8-cylinder engines, while Midland built more than a dozen different bodies. Riley models at this time included:
- Saloons: Adelphi, Continental, Deauville, Falcon, Kestrel, Mentone, Merlin, Monaco, Stelvio, Victor
- Coupes: Ascot, Lincock
- Tourers: Alpine, Lynx, Gamecock
- Sports: Brooklands, Imp, MPH, Sprite
- Limousines: Edinburgh, Winchester
Introduced in 1926 in a humble but innovatively designed fabricWeymann Fabric Bodies is a patented design system for fuselages for aircraft and superlight coachwork for motor vehicles. The system used a patent-jointed wood frame covered in fabric...
bodied saloon, Percy Riley's ground-breaking Riley 9 engine- a small capacity, high revving unit- was ahead of its time in many respects. Having hemispherical combustion chambers and inclined overhead valves, it has been called the most significant engine development of the 1920s. With twin camshafts set high in the cylinder block and valves operated by short pushrods, it provided power and efficiency without the servicing complexity of an OHC (overhead camshaft) layout. It soon attracted the attention of tuners and builders of 'specials' intended for sporting purposes. One such was engineer/driver J.G. Parry-ThomasJohn Godfrey Parry-Thomas was a Welsh engineer and motor-racing driver who at one time held the Land Speed Record. He was the first driver to be killed in pursuit of the land speed record....
, who conceived the Riley 'Brooklands' model in his workshops at the banked Surrey circuit. After Parry-Thomas was killed during a land speed record attempt in 1927, his close collaborator Reid Railton stepped in to finish the job. Officially backed by the Riley company, the Brooklands, along with later developments and variations such as the 'Ulster' Imp, MPH, and Sprite, proved some of the most successful works and privateer racing cars of the late 1920s and early 1930s. At Le MansThe 24 Hours of Le Mans is the world's oldest sports car race in endurance racing, held annually since near the town of Le Mans, France. Commonly known as the Grand Prix of Endurance and Efficiency, race teams have to balance speed against the cars' ability to run for 24 hours without sustaining...
in 1934, Rileys finished 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 6th and 12th, winning the Rudge Whitworth Cup, the Team Prize, two class awards, and the Ladies' Prize. Rileys also distinguished themselves at the Ulster TT, at BrooklandsBrooklands was a motor racing circuit and aerodrome built near Weybridge in Surrey, England. It opened in 1907, and was the world's first purpose-built motorsport venue, as well as one of Britain's first airfields...
itself, and at smaller events like hill climbs, while providing a platform for the success of motorsports' first women racing drivers such as Kay Petre, Dorothy Champney and Joan Richmond. Another engineer/driver, Freddie DixonFrederick William Dixon was an English motorcycle racer and racing car driver. He was the designer of the motorcycle and banking sidecar system. He was also one of the few motorsport competitors to have been successful on two, three and four wheels. He was twice awarded the BRDC Gold Star...
, was responsible for extensive improvements to engine and chassis tuning, creating a number of 'specials' that exploited the basic Riley design still further, and contributed greatly to its success on the track.
For series production, the engine configuration was extended into a larger 12 horsepower '4', six cylinder and even V8 versions, powering an increasingly bewildering range of touring and sports cars. The soundness and longevity of the engine design is illustrated by Mike Hawthorn's early racing success after WW2 in pre-war Rileys, in particular his father's Sprite. But by about 1936 the company had overextended, with too many models and few common parts, and the emergence of JaguarJaguar Cars Ltd, known simply as Jaguar , is a British luxury car manufacturer, headquartered in Whitley, Coventry, England. It is part of the Jaguar Land Rover business, a subsidiary of the Indian company Tata Motors....
at Coventry was a direct challenge. Disagreements between the Riley brothers about the future direction of the enterprise grew. Victor Riley had set up a new ultra-luxury concern, AutoviaAutovia was a short lived brand of British car from Coventry existing from 1935 to 1938 with production starting in 1936. The venture was ambitious and even included setting up a school for chauffeurs. The cars were expensive and it was a market sector well served by other companies...
, to produce a V8 saloon and limousine to compete with Rolls-RoyceRolls-Royce Limited was a renowned British car and, from 1914 on, aero-engine manufacturing company founded by Charles Stewart Rolls and Henry Royce on 15 March 1906 as the result of a partnership formed in 1904....
. By contrast, Percy, however, did not favour an entry into the luxury market, and the Riley Engine Company had been renamed PR Motors to be a high-volume supplier of engines and components. Although the rest of the Riley companies would go on to become part of NuffieldNuffield may refer to:*Nuffield College, Oxford, one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom*Nuffield Foundation, a British charitable trust, established in 1943 by William Morris...
and then BMCThe British Motor Corporation, or commonly known as BMC was a vehicle manufacturer from United Kingdom, formed by the merger of the Austin Motor Company and the Nuffield Organisation in 1952...
, PR Motors remained independent. After the death of Percy Riley in 1941, the company began producing transmissionA machine consists of a power source and a power transmission system, which provides controlled application of the power. Merriam-Webster defines transmission as: an assembly of parts including the speed-changing gears and the propeller shaft by which the power is transmitted from an engine to a...
components and still exists today as PRM Marine Limited (formally Newage Transmissions) based in Aldermans Green, Coventry. Percy's widow Norah ran the company for many years and was Britain's businesswoman of the year in 1960.
{{Gallery
|title=Riley Motor Manufacturing Co saloons and coupés
|width=120
|height=150
|lines=3
|align=center
|Image:Riley Gamecock 2-Seater 1932.jpg|Gamecock 2-Seater 1932
|Image:Riley Lynx Tourer 1934.jpg|Lynx Tourer 1934
|Image:Riley Lincock Fixedhead Coupe 1934.jpg|Lincock Fixedhead Coupé 1934
|Image:riley.falcon.arp.750pix.jpg|12/4 Falcon 1935
|Image:Riley 12 4 Kestrel Saloon 1935 2.jpg|12/4 Kestrel Saloon 1935
|Image:Riley 15 6 Adelphi Six Light Saloon 1935.jpg|15/6 Adelphi Six Light Saloon 1935
|Image:Riley 12 4 Lynx Sports Tourer 1937.jpg|12/4 Lynx Sports Tourer 1937
|Image:Riley Continental 1937.jpg|12/4 Continental 1937
|File:Riley of 1930s or 1940s.JPG|12/4
End of the line
}}
{{Gallery
|title=Riley Motor Manufacturing Co sports and racing cars
|width=120
|height=150
|lines=3
|align=center
|File:Riley Brooklands 1930,Belem.jpg|Brooklands 1930
|Image:Riley MPH 2-Seater Sports 1934.jpg|MPH 2-Seater Sports 1934
|Image:Riley 12 4 Sprite 2-Seater Sports 1936.jpg|12/4 Sprite 2-Seater Sports 1936
|Image:Riley 12 4 Sprite 2-Seater Sports 1934.jpg|Heavily modified 12/4 Sprite 2-Seater Sports 1934
|Image:Riley 12 4 1,5-Litre Special 1937.jpg|12/4 1½-Litre Special 1937
}}
Nuffield Organisation
By 1937, Riley began to look to other manufacturers for partnerships. A contract with Briggs Motor Bodies of Dagenham to provide all-steel bodies for a cheaper, more mass-market saloon had already turned sour, with dozens of unsold bodies littering the factory. It had withdrawn from works racing after its most successful year, 1934, although it continued to supply engines for the ERAEnglish Racing Automobiles was a British racing car manufacturer active from 1933 to 1954. Currently the ERA trademark is owned by a British kit-car manufacturer.-Prewar history:...
, a voiturette (Formula 2) racing car based on the supercharged 6-cylinder 'White Riley', developed by ERA founder Raymond Mays in the mid-thirties. BMWBayerische Motoren Werke AG is a German automobile, motorcycle and engine manufacturing company founded in 1916. It also owns and produces the Mini marque, and is the parent company of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. BMW produces motorcycles under BMW Motorrad and Husqvarna brands...
of MunichMunich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
, Germany was interested in expanding its range into England. But the Riley brothers were more interested in a larger British concern, and looked to Triumph Motor CompanyThe Triumph Motor Company was a British car and motor manufacturing company. The Triumph marque is owned currently by BMW. The marque had its origins in 1885 when Siegfried Bettmann of Nuremberg initiated S. Bettmann & Co and started importing bicycles from Europe and selling them with his own...
, also of Coventry, as a natural fit. In February, 1938, all negotiations collapsed as Riley (Coventry) and Autovia went into receivership.
Both companies were purchased by Lord NuffieldWilliam Richard Morris, 1st Viscount Nuffield GBE, CH , known as Sir William Morris, Bt, between 1929 and 1934 and as The Lord Nuffield between 1934 and 1938, was a British motor manufacturer and philanthropist...
for £The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
143,000 and operated by Victor Riley as Riley (Coventry) Successors. It was quickly sold to Nuffield's Morris Motor CompanyThe Morris Motor Company was a British car manufacturing company. After the incorporation of the company into larger corporations, the Morris name remained in use as a marque until 1984 when British Leyland's Austin Rover Group decided to concentrate on the more popular Austin marque...
for £1, with the combination coming to be called the Nuffield OrganisationThe Nuffield Organisation was a vehicle manufacturing company in the United Kingdom. Named after its founder, William Morris, 1st Viscount Nuffield, it was formed in 1938 as the merger of Nuffield's Morris Motor Company , another of Nuffield's companies the MG Car Company and Riley.Morris Motors...
.
Nuffield took quick measures to firm up the company. Autovia was no more, with just 35 cars having been produced. Riley refocused on the 4-cylinder market with two engines: A 1.5 litre 12 hp engine and the "Big Four", a 2.5 litre 16 hp unit (The hp figures are RAC Rating, and bear no relationship to bhp or kW). Only a few bodies were produced, and some components were shared with Morris for economies of scale.
After World War II, the restarted Riley Motors took up the old engines in new models, based in concept on the 1936-8 'Continental'. The RMAThe Riley RM Series was the last automobile series developed independently by Riley. RM vehicles were produced from 1945, after the Second World War, through the 1952 merger of the Riley's Nuffield Organisation with Austin to form BMC. They were originally made in Coventry, but in 1949 production...
used the 1.5 litre engine, while the RMBThe Riley RM Series was the last automobile series developed independently by Riley. RM vehicles were produced from 1945, after the Second World War, through the 1952 merger of the Riley's Nuffield Organisation with Austin to form BMC. They were originally made in Coventry, but in 1949 production...
got the Big Four. The RM line of vehicles, sold under the "Magnificent Motoring" tag line, were to be the company's high point. They featured a front independent suspensionIndependent suspension is a broad term for any automobile suspension system that allows each wheel on the same axle to move vertically independently of each other. This is contrasted with a beam axle, live axle or deDion axle system in which the wheels are linked – movement on one side affects...
and steering system inspired by the CitroënCitroën is a major French automobile manufacturer, part of the PSA Peugeot Citroën group.Founded in 1919 by French industrialist André-Gustave Citroën , Citroën was the first mass-production car company outside the USA and pioneered the modern concept of creating a sales and services network that...
Traction AvantThe Citroën Traction Avant is an automobile which was produced by the French manufacturer Citroën from 1934 to 1957. About 760,000 units were produced.-Impact on the world:...
. Their flowing lines were particularly well-balanced, marrying pre-war 'coachbuilt' elegance to more modern features, such as headlamps faired-in to the front wings. The RMC, a 3 seater roadster was an unsuccessful attempt to break into the American market, while the RMD was an elegant 4/5-seater two door drophead, of which again few were made. The 1.5 litre RME and 2.5 litre RMF were later developments of the saloon versions, which continued in production into the mid-fifties.
Victor Riley was removed by Nuffield in 1947, and the Coventry works were shut down as production was consolidated with MGThe MG Car Company is a former British sports car manufacturer founded in the 1920s by Cecil Kimber. Best known for its two-seat open sports cars, MG also produced saloons and coupés....
at Abingdon. Nuffield's marques were then organised in a similar way to those of General Motors: MorrisThe Morris Motor Company was a British car manufacturing company. After the incorporation of the company into larger corporations, the Morris name remained in use as a marque until 1984 when British Leyland's Austin Rover Group decided to concentrate on the more popular Austin marque...
was the value line, and WolseleyThe Wolseley Motor Company was a British automobile manufacturer founded in 1901. After 1935 it was incorporated into larger companies but the Wolseley name remained as an upmarket marque until 1975.-History:...
the luxury marque. MG largely offered spartan performance, especially with their open sports cars, while Riley sought to be both sporty and luxurious. With Wolseley also fighting for the top position, however, the range was crowded and confused.
British Motor Corporation
The confusion became critical in 1952 with the merger of Nuffield and AustinThe Austin Motor Company was a British manufacturer of automobiles. The company was founded in 1905 and merged in 1952 into the British Motor Corporation Ltd. The marque Austin was used until 1987...
as the British Motor CorporationThe British Motor Corporation, or commonly known as BMC was a vehicle manufacturer from United Kingdom, formed by the merger of the Austin Motor Company and the Nuffield Organisation in 1952...
. Now, Riley was positioned between MG and Wolseley and most Riley models would become, like those, little more than badge-engineeredBadge engineering is an ironic term that describes the rebadging of one product as another...
versions of Austin/Morris designs.
The first all-new Riley under BMC, however, was designated the RMH, and because of its distinctive engine and suspension design, has been called 'the last real Riley'. This was the PathfinderFirst presented at the London Motor Show in October 1953, the Pathfinder replaced the RMF as Riley's top-line car.Designed as the "RMH" just before the 1952 merger of Riley-parent, the Nuffield Organisation, with Austin to form BMC, the Pathfinder is seen as the last proper Riley car...
, with Riley's familiar 2.5 litre four developed to produce 110 bhp. (The RMG 'Wayfarer', a projected 1.5 litre version, was rejected as underpowered). The body was later reworked and with a different engine and rear suspension, sold as the Wolseley 6/90The Wolseley 6/90 was a car from the British Wolseley Motor Company, produced from 1954-59, which replaced the 6/80 as the company's flagship model. It was badged as the Six-Ninety on the bonnet and 6/90 on the bootlid....
. The Riley lost its distinct (though subtle) differences in 1958, and the 6/90 of that year was available badge engineered as a Riley Two-Point-SixThe Two-Point-Six replaced the Riley Pathfinder as Riley's top-line automobile. While its predecessor retained the Riley twin cam, cross flow motor, the Two-Point-Six was almost identical to the Wolseley Six-Ninety Series III...
. Although this was the only postwar 6-cylinder Riley, its C-SeriesThe BMC C-Series was a straight-6 automobile engine produced from 1956 to 1971. Unlike the Austin designed A and B-series engines, it came from the Morris engines drawing office in Coventry...
engine was actually less powerful than the Riley Big Four that it replaced. This was to be the last large Riley, with the model dropped in May 1959 and the company refocusing on the under-2 litre segment.
Riley and Wolseley were linked in small cars as well. Launched in 1957, the Riley One-Point-FiveThe Riley One-Point-Five and similar Wolseley 1500 were motor vehicles based on the Morris Minor floorpan, suspension and steering but fitted with the larger 1489 cc B-Series engine and MG Magnette gearbox...
and Wolseley 1500 were reworked Morris MinorThe Morris Minor was a British economy car that debuted at the Earls Court Motor Show, London, on 20 September 1948. Designed under the leadership of Alec Issigonis, more than 1.3 million were manufactured between 1948 and 1971...
s. They shared their exteriors, but the Riley was marketed as the more performance-oriented option, having an uprated engine, twin S.U. carburetters and a close-ratio gearbox. With its good handling, compact, sports-saloon styling and well-appointed interior, the One-Point-Five quite successfully recaptured the character of the 1930s light saloons.
At the top of the Riley line for April 1959 was the new Riley 4/Sixty-EightThe Riley 4/68 and 4/72 are cars produced by BMC from 1959 through the 1960s. They are related to the Pinin Farina-designed Austin A55 Cambridge, MG Magnette Mk...
saloon. Again, it was merely a badge-engineered version of other BMC models. The steering was perhaps the worst feature of the car, being Austin-derived cam and peg rather than the rack and pinion of the One-Point-Five. Overall, it could not provide the sharp and positive drive associated with previous Rileys, being based on the humble Austin CambridgeThe Austin Cambridge is a motor car range sold by the Austin Motor Company in several generations from September 1954 through to 1969 as cars and 1971 as light commercials. It replaced the A40 Somerset but was entirely new with modern unibody construction...
and Morris OxfordAfter the Second World War the Oxford MO replaced the 10. It was introduced in 1948 and was produced until 1954. The design was shared with Nuffield Organisation stable-mate Wolseley 4/50....
. Sharing many features with the similarly upmarket MG Magnette Mark IIIThe automobile manufacturer MG used the Magnette name on the K-type and N-type cars in the 1930s, but the Magnette models of the 1950s and 1960s are probably best-remembered...
and Wolseley 15/60The Wolseley 15/60 was the first of the mid-sized Pinin Farina-styled automobiles from the British Motor Corporation . Launched in December 1958, the design would eventually be shared with seven other marques. All of the cars were updated in 1961 with a larger engine and new model designations...
, it was the most luxurious of the versions, which were all comfortable and spacious, and attractively styled by Farina. The car was refreshed, along with its siblings, in 1961 and rebadged the 4/Seventy-TwoThe Riley 4/68 and 4/72 are cars produced by BMC from 1959 through the 1960s. They are related to the Pinin Farina-designed Austin A55 Cambridge, MG Magnette Mk...
.
The early 1960s also saw the introduction of the MiniThe Mini is a small car that was made by the British Motor Corporation and its successors from 1959 until 2000. The original is considered a British icon of the 1960s, and its space-saving front-wheel-drive layout influenced a generation of car-makers...
-based Riley Elf. Again, a Wolseley model (the HornetWolseley Hornet was the name of two different British vehicles produce under the Wolseley Motor Company nameplate.* Wolseley Hornet , lightweight saloon car produced in the 1930s....
) was introduced simultaneously. This time, the Riley and Wolseley versions were differentiated visually and identical mechanically.
The final model of the BMC era was the Kestrel 1100/1300, based on the AustinThe Austin Motor Company was a British manufacturer of automobiles. The company was founded in 1905 and merged in 1952 into the British Motor Corporation Ltd. The marque Austin was used until 1987...
/MorrisThe Morris Motor Company was a British car manufacturing company. After the incorporation of the company into larger corporations, the Morris name remained in use as a marque until 1984 when British Leyland's Austin Rover Group decided to concentrate on the more popular Austin marque...
1100/1300 saloon. This also had stablemates in WolseleyThe Wolseley Motor Company was a British automobile manufacturer founded in 1901. After 1935 it was incorporated into larger companies but the Wolseley name remained as an upmarket marque until 1975.-History:...
and MG versions. Following objections from diehard Riley enthusiasts, the Kestrel name was dropped for the last facelift in 1968, the Riley 1300.
Between 1966 and 1968 a series of mergers took place in the British motor industry, ultimately creating the British Leyland Motor CorporationBritish Leyland was a vehicle manufacturing company formed in the United Kingdom in 1968 as British Leyland Motor Corporation Ltd . It was partly nationalised in 1975 with the government creating a new holding company called British Leyland Ltd which became BL Ltd in 1978...
, whose management embarked on a programme of rationalisation- in which the Riley marque was an early casualty. A BLMC press release dated 9 July 1969 announced "today that all Riley models produced at British Leyland's Austin-Morris division will be discontinued".
In spite of the decline of the marque under BMC-In business and organizations:* Beard Miller Company, a US public accounting firm* BioMed Central, a UK-based scientific publisher* BMC , a Turkish vehicle manufacturer...
, surviving well-preserved examples of the period are now considered desirable classics, the Riley 'face' and badge lending a distinctive character. The needs of enthusiasts are met by the Riley Motor Club, the original factory Club founded in 1925.
The future
Riley production ended with the 1960s, and the marque became dormant. The last Riley badged car was produced in 1969. For many enthusiasts, however, the name of Riley still has resonance into the 21st century. Many of the original racing Rileys compete regularly in VSCC (Vintage Sports Car Club) events, and pre-war racing 'specials' continue to be created (controversially) from tired or derelict saloons. For a short while, following BMW's purchase of the Rover Group in 1994, there were hopes that Riley might be revived,the then Chairman Bernd PischetsriederDr. Bernd Peter Pischetsrieder is a German automobile engineer and manager.He was born in Munich, Bavaria, and studied Mechanical Engineering at the Technical University of Munich from 1968 to 1972. He earned the degree of "Diplom-Ingenieur", and began his career at BMW in 1973 as a Production...
being an enthusiast for many of the defunct British marques. After BMWBayerische Motoren Werke AG is a German automobile, motorcycle and engine manufacturing company founded in 1916. It also owns and produces the Mini marque, and is the parent company of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. BMW produces motorcycles under BMW Motorrad and Husqvarna brands...
's divestment of the MG Rover GroupMG Rover was the last domestically owned mass-production car manufacturer in the British motor industry. The company was formed when BMW sold the car-making and engine manufacturing assets of the original Rover Group to the Phoenix Consortium in 2000....
in 2000, and Pischetsrieder's removal, however, these hopes faded; though the rights to the TriumphThe Triumph Motor Company was a British car and motor manufacturing company. The Triumph marque is owned currently by BMW. The marque had its origins in 1885 when Siegfried Bettmann of Nuremberg initiated S. Bettmann & Co and started importing bicycles from Europe and selling them with his own...
and Riley marques, along with Mini/MINI were retained by BMW.
In 2007, William Riley, who claims to be a descendant of the Riley family, although this has been disputed, formed MG Sports and Racing EuropeMG Sports and Racing Europe Limited was a British automotive company based in Eardiston, Tenbury Wells in Worcestershire. The company was founded by William Riley, who acquired assets of the MG Sport and Racing subsidiary of MG Rover Group after its demise, with the intention of restarting...
Ltd. This company acquired assets relating to the MG XPower SVThe MG XPower SV is a sports car which was produced by MG Rover. Manufactured in Modena, Italy and finished at Longbridge, UK, it was based on the platform of the Qvale Mangusta, formerly the De Tomaso Biguà.-History:...
sportscar from PricewaterhouseCoopersPricewaterhouseCoopers is a global professional services firm headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the world's largest professional services firm measured by revenues and one of the "Big Four" accountancy firms....
, the administrators of the defunct MG Rover Group, and intended to continue production of the model as the MG XPower WR.
In September 2010 the motor magazine 'Autocar' reported that BMW were considering the revival of the Riley brand in the form of a variant of the redesigned MINI to be introduced in 2013. http://www.autocar.co.uk/News/NewsArticle/AllCars/252508/ This would most likely be a luxury version taking its cues from the 'Elf' of 1961-9, with a 'notchback' (booted) body, and the interior trimmed in wood and leather in the manner of earlier Rileys. No sources were quoted, however, and until an announcement is made by the Company, such information must be regarded as speculative.
Pre-World War I
- 1907–1911 Riley 9
- 1907–1907 Riley 12
- 1909–1914 Riley 10
- 1908–1914 Riley 12/18
- 1915–1916 Riley 10
Inter-war years
- 1913–1922 Riley 17/30
- 1919–1924 Riley Eleven
- 1925–1928 Riley Twelve
- 1926–1937 Riley Nine
thumb|250px|Riley Nine Kestrel Saloon 1933The Riley Nine was one of the most successful light cars produced by the British motor industry in the inter war period. It was made by the Riley company of Coventry, England with a wide range of body styles between 1926 and 1938.The car was largely...
- 1927–1931 Riley Brooklands
- 1928–1937 Riley Six
- 1929–1934 Riley 14/6
- 1933–1935 Riley 12/6
A Riley 12/6 was a car made by the British Riley company from 1933 to 1935.It had a 1458cc straight six engine with twin cams and either twin or triple S.U carburettors. The transmission was either a four speed manual or optional preselector gearbox. They were capable of a top speed of around 70mph...
- 1934–1935 Riley Imp
- 1934–1935 Riley MPH
The Riley MPH is a small production, two seat, sports car made between 1934 and 1935 by the Riley company of Coventry, England. Very few were made and examples are now highly sought after....
- 1935–1938 Riley 15/6
- 1935–1938 Riley 1{{frac
- 1936–1938 Riley Sprite
- 1936–1938 Riley 8/90
- 1937–1938 Riley Big Four
- 1938–1938 Riley Victor
- 1939–1940 Riley 12
- 1939–1940 Riley 16
Post-war
- Roadster
- 1948–1951 RMC
- 1949–1951 RMD
- Mid-sized
- 1945–1952 RMA
- 1952–1955 RME
- 1957–1965 One-Point-Five
The Riley One-Point-Five and similar Wolseley 1500 were motor vehicles based on the Morris Minor floorpan, suspension and steering but fitted with the larger 1489 cc B-Series engine and MG Magnette gearbox...
(Wolseley 1500)
- 1959–1961 4/Sixty-Eight
The Riley 4/68 and 4/72 are cars produced by BMC from 1959 through the 1960s. They are related to the Pinin Farina-designed Austin A55 Cambridge, MG Magnette Mk...
(Wolseley 15/60The Wolseley 15/60 was the first of the mid-sized Pinin Farina-styled automobiles from the British Motor Corporation . Launched in December 1958, the design would eventually be shared with seven other marques. All of the cars were updated in 1961 with a larger engine and new model designations...
)
- 1961–1969 4/Seventy-Two
The Riley 4/68 and 4/72 are cars produced by BMC from 1959 through the 1960s. They are related to the Pinin Farina-designed Austin A55 Cambridge, MG Magnette Mk...
(Wolseley 16/60)
- Large
- 1946–1952 RMB
- 1952–1953 RMF
- 1953–1957 Pathfinder
First presented at the London Motor Show in October 1953, the Pathfinder replaced the RMF as Riley's top-line car.Designed as the "RMH" just before the 1952 merger of Riley-parent, the Nuffield Organisation, with Austin to form BMC, the Pathfinder is seen as the last proper Riley car...
(Wolseley 6/90The Wolseley 6/90 was a car from the British Wolseley Motor Company, produced from 1954-59, which replaced the 6/80 as the company's flagship model. It was badged as the Six-Ninety on the bonnet and 6/90 on the bootlid....
)
- 1958–1959 Two-Point-Six
The Two-Point-Six replaced the Riley Pathfinder as Riley's top-line automobile. While its predecessor retained the Riley twin cam, cross flow motor, the Two-Point-Six was almost identical to the Wolseley Six-Ninety Series III...
(Wolseley 6/90The Wolseley 6/90 was a car from the British Wolseley Motor Company, produced from 1954-59, which replaced the 6/80 as the company's flagship model. It was badged as the Six-Ninety on the bonnet and 6/90 on the bootlid....
)
- Mini
- 1961–1969 Elf (Mini
The Mini is a small car that was made by the British Motor Corporation and its successors from 1959 until 2000. The original is considered a British icon of the 1960s, and its space-saving front-wheel-drive layout influenced a generation of car-makers...
)
- Compact
- 1965–1969 Riley Kestrel/1300 (Morris 1100)
External links
{{commons category|Riley vehicles}}
{{British Leyland}}
{{British Car Industry}}
{{BMW}}
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