Riley MPH
Encyclopedia
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.
The chassis, with half elliptic springs and rigid axles front and rear, was based on that of the car prepared for the 1933 TT races. To keep the height down to as low as possible, the side members went under the axle at the rear. Large, fifteen inch, drum brakes were used. Elegant bodywork was mainly of aluminium built over a traditional wood frame and featured a long bonnet, front wings flowing into running boards and a short rounded tail. The windscreen could fold flat to reduce air resistance.
A choice of three sizes of the six cylinder engine was available, 1458 cc, 1633 cc or 1726 cc fitted with triple or more usually twin SU carburettors. The engines had the traditional Riley arrangement of twin camshafts mounted high in the crankcase. Aluminium alloy connecting rods were used. The 1726 engine had an output of 56.8 PS (56.0 bhp) (41.8 kW) at 4800 rpm. Drive was to the rear wheels through a choice of either a four speed manual "crash" gear box or an ENV pre-selector gearbox
supplied by Armstrong-Siddeley. The top speed of the 17 hp (1726 cc) engined version was approximately 90 mph (145 km/h).
The exact number made is not known but is believed to be around 15 and it was expensive at £
550. Numerous replicas have however been made. Fourteen original cars are thought to survive.
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...
company of Coventry
Coventry
Coventry 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. Very few were made and examples are now highly sought after.
The chassis, with half elliptic springs and rigid axles front and rear, was based on that of the car prepared for the 1933 TT races. To keep the height down to as low as possible, the side members went under the axle at the rear. Large, fifteen inch, drum brakes were used. Elegant bodywork was mainly of aluminium built over a traditional wood frame and featured a long bonnet, front wings flowing into running boards and a short rounded tail. The windscreen could fold flat to reduce air resistance.
A choice of three sizes of the six cylinder engine was available, 1458 cc, 1633 cc or 1726 cc fitted with triple or more usually twin SU carburettors. The engines had the traditional Riley arrangement of twin camshafts mounted high in the crankcase. Aluminium alloy connecting rods were used. The 1726 engine had an output of 56.8 PS (56.0 bhp) (41.8 kW) at 4800 rpm. Drive was to the rear wheels through a choice of either a four speed manual "crash" gear box or an ENV pre-selector gearbox
Preselector gearbox
A preselector or self-changing gearbox is a type of manual gearbox used on a variety of vehicles, most commonly in the 1930s...
supplied by Armstrong-Siddeley. The top speed of the 17 hp (1726 cc) engined version was approximately 90 mph (145 km/h).
The exact number made is not known but is believed to be around 15 and it was expensive at £
Pound sterling
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...
550. Numerous replicas have however been made. Fourteen original cars are thought to survive.