Riley 4
Encyclopedia
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. III
, Morris Oxford V
, and Wolseley 15/60
, sharing the MG's rear styling and engine (with a milder cam).
Another related car was the 1959–1965 Siam di Tella
of Argentina
, they were externally identical to the Riley 4/72 family. There was the sedan Di Tella 1500, the station wagon Di Tella Traveller and the pick-up (never produced in England) Di Tella Argenta. All of them were fitted with the 1498cc engine and 3 speed manual column change.
straight-4
engine in the form already familiar to drivers of the MG Magnette III
, producing 64 hp (48 kW). This was 6 hp (4.5 kW) more than the similar Wolseley 15/60.
From the outside the car was distinguished from its siblings by a Riley grill on the front and (apart from the MG with which it shared its tail treatment) slightly less acute tail fins at the back. Inside the facia was relatively well equipped: this was the only one of the five cars to come with a rev counter as standard equipment.
A car was tested by the British magazine The Motor
in 1959 and had a top speed of 88.2 mph (141.9 km/h) and could accelerate from 0-60 mph (96.6 km/h) in 18.8 seconds. A fuel consumption of 27.3 mpgimp was recorded. The test car cost £1028 including taxes.
became an option in the Riley at the same time, making the Riley the first mass produced car in Europe to adopt the Borg-Warner 35 system following Borg-Warner's establishment of a plant at Letchworth
to produce a transmission package that ten years earlier had been developed for US applications.
Further modifications to the suspension a year later included 'recambering the rear springs' to improve ride and roadholding, but from the outside there was little to distinguish the later Rileys from the models as they had appeared in 1959, and the car continued very little changed until its withdrawal in 1969.
The 4/72's main competitor, appearing in 1963, was the Humber Sceptre
from the Rootes Group - with a 85hp engine, 4 speed manual or 3 speed automatic (post 1965) and a more modern interior it thoroughly trounced the 4/72 in reviews of the period.
When an automatic 4/72 was tested by The Motor magazine in 1962 they recorded a top speed of 81.3 mph (130.8 km/h), acceleration from 0-60 mph (96.6 km/h) in 20.6 seconds and a fuel consumption of 26.5 mpgimp. The test car cost £1186 including taxes. The manual car was £1087
This model was also sold as the Riley Comet in Austria
.
Riley (automobile)
Riley was a British motorcar and bicycle manufacturer from 1890. The company became part of the Nuffield Organisation in 1938 and was later merged into British Leyland: late in 1969 British Leyland announced their discontinuance of Riley production, although 1969 was a difficult year for the UK...
4/68 and 4/72 are cars produced by BMC
British Motor Corporation
The 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...
from 1959 through the 1960s. They are related to the Pinin Farina-designed Austin A55 Cambridge
Austin Cambridge
The 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...
, MG Magnette Mk. III
MG Magnette
The 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...
, Morris Oxford V
Morris Oxford
After 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....
, and Wolseley 15/60
Wolseley 15/60
The 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...
, sharing the MG's rear styling and engine (with a milder cam).
Another related car was the 1959–1965 Siam di Tella
Siam di Tella
Siam Di Tella was an Argentine manufacturing company; the name Siam is an acronym from Sección Industrial Amasadoras Mecánicas.-Early years:...
of Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, they were externally identical to the Riley 4/72 family. There was the sedan Di Tella 1500, the station wagon Di Tella Traveller and the pick-up (never produced in England) Di Tella Argenta. All of them were fitted with the 1498cc engine and 3 speed manual column change.
Riley 4/68
Launched in April the 4/Sixty-Eight was the last of the five B series BMC Pininfarina cars to be released. The Riley used the twin-carburettor B-SeriesBMC B-Series engine
The BMC B-series was a straight-4 internal combustion engine family, mostly used in motor cars, created by British company Austin Motor Company. The pre-cursor of the "B" series engine was a 1200 cc OHV engine which was used in the 1947 Austin A40 Devon. This A40 Devon engine was based on a...
straight-4
Straight-4
The inline-four engine or straight-four engine is an internal combustion engine with all four cylinders mounted in a straight line, or plane along the crankcase. The single bank of cylinders may be oriented in either a vertical or an inclined plane with all the pistons driving a common crankshaft....
engine in the form already familiar to drivers of the MG Magnette III
MG Magnette
The 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...
, producing 64 hp (48 kW). This was 6 hp (4.5 kW) more than the similar Wolseley 15/60.
From the outside the car was distinguished from its siblings by a Riley grill on the front and (apart from the MG with which it shared its tail treatment) slightly less acute tail fins at the back. Inside the facia was relatively well equipped: this was the only one of the five cars to come with a rev counter as standard equipment.
A car was tested by the British magazine The Motor
The Motor (magazine)
The Motor was a British weekly car magazine founded on 28 January 1903....
in 1959 and had a top speed of 88.2 mph (141.9 km/h) and could accelerate from 0-60 mph (96.6 km/h) in 18.8 seconds. A fuel consumption of 27.3 mpgimp was recorded. The test car cost £1028 including taxes.
Riley 4/72
Just before the 1961 Motor Show, in October, the car became the 4/Seventy-Two. Closely related again was the 16/60 update to the Wolseley car. The engine was now 1.6 L (1622 cc), and Riley again got the twin-carb version with 68 hp (51 kW). It also used an improved suspension with anti-roll bars. The wheelbase was 1 in (25.4 mm) longer, through the moving of the back axle rearwards, and the front track was increased by 2 inches (5 cm). These modifications to the wheel locations were made at the same time to all the BMC Farina saloons, and were seen as an answer to criticism of the indifferent road holding of the 1959 cars. Borg Warner automatic transmissionBorg-Warner 35 transmission
The Borg-Warner 35 transmission is an automatic transmission produced by the BorgWarner company.It has three forward and one reverse gears. The selector lever follows a quadrant which has six stations...
became an option in the Riley at the same time, making the Riley the first mass produced car in Europe to adopt the Borg-Warner 35 system following Borg-Warner's establishment of a plant at Letchworth
Letchworth
Letchworth Garden City, commonly known as Letchworth, is a town and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England. The town's name is taken from one of the three villages it surrounded - all of which featured in the Domesday Book. The land used was first purchased by Quakers who had intended to farm the...
to produce a transmission package that ten years earlier had been developed for US applications.
Further modifications to the suspension a year later included 'recambering the rear springs' to improve ride and roadholding, but from the outside there was little to distinguish the later Rileys from the models as they had appeared in 1959, and the car continued very little changed until its withdrawal in 1969.
The 4/72's main competitor, appearing in 1963, was the Humber Sceptre
Humber Sceptre
The Humber Sceptre name has been applied to three generations of motor cars from the British manufacturer the Rootes Group , using the Humber marque, between 1961 and 1976.For the first & second generations, see Hillman Super Minx....
from the Rootes Group - with a 85hp engine, 4 speed manual or 3 speed automatic (post 1965) and a more modern interior it thoroughly trounced the 4/72 in reviews of the period.
When an automatic 4/72 was tested by The Motor magazine in 1962 they recorded a top speed of 81.3 mph (130.8 km/h), acceleration from 0-60 mph (96.6 km/h) in 20.6 seconds and a fuel consumption of 26.5 mpgimp. The test car cost £1186 including taxes. The manual car was £1087
This model was also sold as the Riley Comet in Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
.