Lot 607: Riley 9hp MkIV Tourer

“First of the superlative type of 9hp car, firmly established, regularly improved and as yet scarcely challenged in its class, the Riley Nine has a very definite appeal to those who can appreciate performance, safety, comfort and an appearance out of the ruck.” - Autocar, 16th October 1931. Introduced in 1926, Percy Riley’s 9hp, 1,087cc twin-camshaft four was an outstanding engine design by any standards, various versions powering Rileys until 1957. Clothed in stylish bodywork by Stanley Riley, the Coventry marque's pre-war offerings were among the world’s finest small-capacity sporting cars. Right from the start it was obvious that the 9hp Riley engine possessed enormous potential as a competition unit, and at Brooklands J G Parry-Thomas and Reid Railton were the first to demonstrate just how good it was. The success of their racer led to a production version, the Speed Model, which would turn out to be merely the first in a lengthy series of memorable Riley sports cars. 1929 saw the introduction of the MkIV chassis featuring wider front/rear track and much larger brakes than hitherto. Models available were the Monaco saloon, Biarritz saloon, fabric-bodied four-seat tourer and a brace of coachbuilt tourers. The immediately preceding owner – a Mr M Melling - purchased this Riley 9hp MkIV fabric-bodied tourer in Cambridge in June 1994 from its then owner/restorer, Derek James. Mr Melling drove the car regularly for the next 11 years before selling it to the vendor in 2005. We are advised that the engine was rebuilt with new pistons that same year. The car is offered complete with original tools (jack, wheel brace, starting handle, etc), driver’s handbook, spare parts catalogue, expired MoTs for the period 1994-2004, sundry parts invoices, current road fund licence/MoT and Swansea V5 registration document (the latter incorrectly recording the engine number).