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Riley Two-Point-Six - Magnificent Motoring

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Created on November 14, 2024

Text:

Martin Sigrist / Bruno von Rotz

Photos:

Bruno von Rotz

Archiv

Bruno von Rotz

Archiv

Riley Two-Point-Six (1958) - The exhaust is not original

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Riley Two-Point-Six (1958) - pleasant touring car

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Riley Two-Point-Six (1958) - you can't tell it has a six-cylinder engine

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Riley Two-Point-Six (1958) - A rare phenomenon, only around 2000 2.6s were built

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Riley Two-Point-Six (1958) - beautiful lines

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Riley Two-Point-Six (1958) - A trim strip emphasized the straight lines of the body design

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Riley Two-Point-Six (1958) - Almost Italian performance

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Riley Two-Point-Six (1958) - Lars Stadler, one of the four Riley rescuers

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Riley Two-Point-Six (1958) - wooden fittings, round instruments and lots of patina

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Riley Two-Point-Six (1958) - View of the interior

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Riley Two-Point-Six (1958) - Spring-spoke steering wheel with horn ring

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Riley Two-Point-Six (1958) - leather was standard equipment

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Riley Two-Point-Six (1958) - Traditional wooden dashboard

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Riley Two-Point-Six (1958) - Permanent break in transmission for medium and long wave

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Riley Two-Point-Six (1958) - The left-hand shift lever

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Riley Two-Point-Six (1958) - BMC-C engine

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Riley Two-Point-Six (1958) - longitudinally mounted inline-six

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Riley Two-Point-Six (1958) - Maintenance instructions under the hood

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Riley Two-Point-Six (1958) - Chassis badge

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Riley Two-Point-Six (1958) - clearly labeled

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Riley Two-Point-Six (1958) - No questions about displacement

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Riley Two-Point-Six (1958) - beautiful hubcaps

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Riley Two-Point-Six (1958) - curved lettering, "carved" from the full body

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Riley Two-Point-Six (1958) - rear lights and beautiful lettering

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Riley Two-Point-Six (1958) - Original documents

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Riley Two-Point-Six (1958) - original Owners Manual

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Riley 4/68 (1959) - Replacement of the Two-Point-Six by a four-cylinder with Pininfarina unit body

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Riley 4/68 (1959) - Telegram from Gordon Wilkins that there will be no more six-cylinder engines

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Riley Big-Four 2.4 (1953) - The last real Riley engine was used in the Pathfinder

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Riley Elf (1962) - Based on the Mini, there was a Riley with a notchback until the end of the 1960s

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Riley Pathfinder RMH (1953) - When it was launched, it was considered one of the most modern cars from the UK

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Riley Pathfinder (1953) - Chassis with 2.4-liter engine and coil springs on the rear axle

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Riley Pathfinder (1955) - gearshift in the middle of the door cut-out

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Riley Pathfinder (1955) - Factory picture

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Riley Pathfinder (1956) - with four-cylinder engine

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Riley Pathfinder (1957) - with four cylinders and 110 hp

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Riley Two-Point-Six (1957) - Simplified chassis

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Riley Two-Point-Six (1957) - with OHV six-cylinder under the hood in two-tone livery

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Riley Two-Point-Six (1957) - with polished walnut dashboard

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Riley Two-Point-Six (1957) - with six-cylinder engine

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Riley 4/68 (1959) - The standard body for the BMC saloons with Pininfarina design was also used by Riley

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Riley Pathfinder (1953) - Chassis with coil spring rear axle and Panhard rod

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Riley Two-Point-Six BMC C-Series engine (1958) - Although a six-cylinder engine, the C-engine was nevertheless a technical step backwards in the Riley

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Riley Pathfinder (1955) - Pathfinder in racing action

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Riley 1.5 Litre Krestel Saloon (1938) - Brochure illustration

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Riley 2.4 Litre - the top model from Nuffield at the 1951 Geneva Motor Show

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Summary

The Riley Two-Point-Six is the last Riley with a six-cylinder engine and a rare phenomenon, with one example being awakened from a 50-year slumber. This vehicle report tells the whole story and shows the car in current and historical pictures.

This article contains the following chapters

The first to return
Modern but expensive
Braking problems
Ultima Ratio
Survived
Just like in the luxury class

Estimated reading time: 10min

Preview (beginning of the article)

What is it? A Lancia, an Italian, a Pininfarina body, a car from the early 1950s? All wrong! The country of origin is the United Kingdom, the manufacturer's name is Riley and the years of manufacture are 1957 to 1960. Admittedly, the car was not able to inspire too many buyers after its launch, because the Riley Two-Point-Six suffered from a peculiarity that was unfortunately all too common in the British car industry: cost-cutting in the wrong place, a wild mix of parts supplied by different factories, differences between former rivals that were now united under the same roof - and lousy quality controls. 1938 Riley had become part of the Nuffield Group through its acquisition of William Morris. This was accompanied by a reorganization and simplification of the model range. A similar procedure had already been carried out at MG. For the manufacturer from Abingdon-on-Thames, this not only meant giving up all motorsport activities, but also losing part of its own identity with the discontinuation of OHC engines in favor of conventional units with pushrods and rocker arms. This was different at Riley - after all.

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