The 1935 Riley Kestrel Saloon: A Classic of English Elegance

“If our Kestrel could talk, it would boast, ‘I am always on time!'” Such could have been the advertising slogan for this quintessentially English model if it had been marketed today. During its time of manufacture, though, there was no suitable market in our region.

A Bird’s Name for a Fast Car

This slice of British ornithology is embodied in the car’s name. A “tit” translates directly to “tit,” and a “siskin” remains “siskin,” but a “kestrel” is known as “pustelga” in our language — a predatory, swift, sharp-eyed bird, akin to a falcon, feared by sparrows and voles alike. The English automaker Riley evidently thought it an apt name for a quick car when it introduced this 1.5-litre enclosed model.

The roster already carried evocative names: Brooklands, after the famous racetrack; Stelvio, after the Alpine pass, with its clear sporting connotations; even Ascot, after the racecourse patronised by the British crown. Those were open tourers or sporty two-door saloons. The new car was a four-door, extending the 1.5-litre line, and it took the bird’s name.

From Bicycles to Its Own Engines

The Riley name first went on bicycles. The first motorised vehicles under it appeared in 1898, powered by French De Dion Bouton engines — an ordinary arrangement at the time, when a great many vehicles across the Old World ran on them. By 1903 the company was building its own engines and had stopped depending on outside suppliers.

The Wheels Everyone Wanted

Riley’s Coventry factory was famous above all for its spoked wheels, a craft perfected in the bicycle years and much in demand once cars arrived. Mercedes, Panhard and Hispano-Suiza bought them. So did Rolls-Royce, maker of “the best cars in the world”. Thick wire-spoked wheels came to dominate the output so completely that the work had to be split off into a separate business, unconnected with car manufacture, to stop it overshadowing the firm’s own cars.

The Engine

Riley’s cars were commendable enough that Walter Owen Bentley counted himself a satisfied customer, with his nine-horsepower model. The four-cylinder 1458 cc engine grew out of a 1926 design that was advanced for its era: inclined overhead valves, hemispherical combustion chambers, and twin camshafts driven by gears.

A redesign in 1935 raised output to fifty horsepower, and to fifty-five in some versions, and the unit went on powering Riley cars until 1957 after several further improvements. The example in our illustrations has a pre-selector transmission from an outside supplier, Armstrong-Siddeley. Another point worth noting is the centralised Bijur lubrication system.

Absorbed, Then Erased

Barely three years after this particular car left the factory gates, Riley became part of the newly formed Nuffield Organization, alongside Morris, Wolseley and MG. After World War II, in 1948, it went into the newly named British Motor Corporation Ltd. together with Austin.

At first the brands inside the conglomerate kept some design independence. In time, though, in the spirit of “production rationalization” and its promised savings, the cars became largely standardised, separated mainly by radiator grille and interior trim. The Riley name was dropped in 1969: its market share had fallen to 1% and was still going down. It ended with three models on offer, among them the four-cylinder, four-door Kestrel 1300 Mk.II — a modest and unremarkable car.

Riley Kestrel: The Key Facts

• The name: a kestrel — a falcon-like bird, chosen for a car meant to be quick, in a range that already held Brooklands, Stelvio and Ascot
• Body: a four-door saloon, the four-door addition to Riley’s 1.5-litre line
• Engine: four cylinders, 1458 cc, from a 1926 design — inclined overhead valves, hemispherical chambers, twin gear-driven camshafts
• Power: fifty horsepower after the 1935 redesign, fifty-five in some versions; the engine served until 1957
• Transmission: a pre-selector unit bought in from Armstrong-Siddeley
• Also notable: centralised Bijur lubrication, and two S.U. carburettors
• The company: Riley from 1898, own engines from 1903, into the Nuffield Organization, then British Motor Corporation Ltd. in 1948, name dropped in 1969

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is the car called a Kestrel? Riley named its cars after racetracks and passes — Brooklands, Stelvio, Ascot — and for this four-door 1.5-litre saloon it chose a fast, sharp-eyed bird of prey instead.

What made Riley’s engines interesting? The 1458 cc four came from a 1926 design with inclined overhead valves, hemispherical combustion chambers and twin camshafts driven by gears — advanced for the period, and durable enough to stay in production until 1957.

Did Riley really supply wheels to Rolls-Royce? Yes. Its Coventry-made wire wheels went to Mercedes, Panhard, Hispano-Suiza and Rolls-Royce, and the business grew large enough to be separated from car manufacture altogether.

What happened to the marque? It joined the Nuffield Organization, then British Motor Corporation Ltd. in 1948. Standardisation left its cars distinguished mainly by grille and trim, and with market share down to 1% the name was dropped in 1969.

Photo: Sean Dugan, Hyman Ltd.

This is a translation. You can read the original article here: Riley Kestrel Saloon 1935 года в рассказе Андрея Хрисанфова