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CSMA Club Motor Museum and Cottages

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Riley Adelphi

Please select a car...   Austin BantamAustin ChummyAustin CliftonAustin NippyAustin SwallowAustin TaxiBMW 327Jaguar XK140Jaguar MK VMG 1100MG J2MG TDMG YMorris MinorRiley AdelphiRiley KestrelRiley RMD 21/2 litreRover 8 VanStandard 8Sunbeam AlpineVolvo P1800 ES

How would you define Riley motor cars?
During the late 1920s and 1930s Riley produced some of the best small sporting cars in the world with powerful six cylinder engines.

But this Riley looks far too big to be a sportscar?
That's true. The Adelphi has a four cylinder engine (the model range is called Big Four), but looks can be very deceptive. Certainly this is a big car with a huge seven cross member chassis, but the 2443cc engine tugged this saloon to an impressive top speed of 90mph. The gearbox had a dual overdrive and that meant that it had five gear ratios in all and could cruise at high speed with ease.

So the Adelphi was a good car?
But very underrated, it was one of the best saloon's of the '30s but never gets the recognition. It's hydraulic dampers on the suspension and the 25-inch Girling brakes helped it to handle and stop very effectively. There was even a pretty Kestrel version, which looked similar to our 1934 model, but sales of all versions were small.

Why didn't the Adelphi do better?
Riley went bankrupt because they had far too many models and not enough money to fund them. Morris bought the company in 1938 and this Big Four model was not part of their long-term plan so they were only built for a year.

What became of the Riley name?
Riley survived with post-war saloons and drophead coupes retaining their individuality until Morris became part of the British Motor Corporation - BMC. The glory days were over as Rileys then became badge engineered products, upmarket versions of Austin and Morris saloons, the ultimate indignity being the Riley Elf and Kestrel, better known as the Mini and 1100/1300 range. Ironically these Rileys were the best selling cars ever to wear the blue badge. The Riley name is currently owned by BMW.