Riley's 9hp four-cylinder twin-cam engine was one of the most advanced of its day, so it can have caused little surprise when the Coventry manufacturer created its first six by, in effect, adding a pair of cylinders to the existing design.

Hailed as ‘The Wonder Car Plus Two’, the first 14hp, 1.6-litre six-cylinder models duly appeared in 1929, followed by 12hp, 1.5-litre versions in 1933.

Clothed in stylish coachwork by Stanley Riley, the marque’s pre-war offerings were among the world’s finest small-capacity sporting cars, the ‘airline’-bodied Kestrel sports saloon - available on both the four- and six-cylinder chassis - being a prime example.

In six-cylinder form the Kestrel was built only on the shorter (9’ 6”) wheelbase and could be ordered with either the 14hp or 12hp engine installed.

This Kestrel 12hp ‘Short Six’ was purchased in May 1993 by the present owner, a Riley Club member, from Dennis White, of Crewkerne, Somerset.

We are advised that the engine was rebuilt in the l...