Description
The English brothers Percy and Stanley Riley originally manufactured bicycles, but then increasingly focussed on the automobile. In 1898, Percy Riley presented the world's first vehicle with a mechanically controlled intake valve. Even Carl Benz was amazed. Percy and his brother made real money with the invention of the removable wheel with central locking. Over 130 car manufacturers worldwide, including Mercedes-Benz and Rolls-Royce, acquired licences. From the very beginning, Riley vehicles were regarded as both sporty and robust. Riley reached its motorsport peak in 1934 at the 24 Hours of Le Mans: four Riley cars were among the top six finishers, but the technically minded brothers got bogged down in a multitude of engines with 4, 6 and 8 cylinders and different displacements, several gearboxes, as well as long and short chassis and numerous bodies such as Falcon, Lynx, Adelphy, Monaco, Kestrel, Sprite, Touring, etc. An overly optimistic stockpiling of expensive bodies eventually drove Riley into insolvency. In 1938, Riley was taken over for the symbolic sum of £1 by William Morris, who already owned the Morris, MG and Wolseley car factories. Resourceful sports car builders recognised the qualities of the Riley chassis and engines early on. They bought a Riley saloon, stripped off the bodywork and put a replica open racing or sports car body on it, while the technology remained unchanged. This approach was inexpensive and the value of the now extremely sporty car increased considerably. Unfortunately, many good Riley saloons were sacrificed for this, so that today there are probably more open specials than original saloons. Here we have a surviving saloon still wearing its original, elegant 6 Light Saloon bodywork. The number 6 stands for the number of side windows and Light refers to the construction of the streamlined body: the body, doors and bonnet are made of lightweight aluminium, only the wings and boot lid are made of sheet steel. This authentic Riley 12/ 4 Kestrel even still has its original leather upholstery. After 88 years, it shows clear signs of age and wear, but also shows that the car must have been in good condition for almost nine decades, otherwise it would have had to be replaced long ago. The Riley is also technically up to date. For example, the Wilson pre-selector gearbox was recently overhauled. Pre-selector gearbox means that the desired gear is preselected via a lever to the right of the steering wheel. However, this gear is only engaged in the transmission when the driver depresses the clutch pedal fully and releases it again. This allows you to downshift just before a bend, for example, and still keep both hands on the steering wheel. In addition, there is no need to shift gears with the accelerator. A very popular transmission variant until the advent of automatic transmissions, which was mainly used in expensive luxury cars. The Riley 12/ 4 Kestrel that we are offering here on behalf of its owner is not a museum piece, but a car to drive. The carburettor, ignition and fuel system have been overhauled and optimally adjusted by specialist workshops. The last general inspection was completed without any faults and it also has an H licence plate. This is a real classic car. € 39, 900 (sold on behalf of a customer)
