'During the late 1920s and early 1930s, this small Coventry firm produced some of the best small sporting cars in the world, whether saloons, tourers or out-and-out sports cars.' - Michael Sedgwick & Mark Gillies, A-Z of Cars of the 1930s, Haymarket Publishing Ltd, 1989.

Founded in the closing decade of the 19th Century, Riley actively participated in motor sport from its earliest days.

Indeed, the first recorded track event in which a Riley was entered took place in 1899, when Robert Crossley won aboard one of the Coventry firm's motor tricycles.

The first purpose-built sporting Riley was the 10hp Speed Model of 1909.

Powered by a 1.4-litre v-twin engine, the lightweight Speed Model was capable of 60mph, an outstanding achievement for a voiturette at the time.

Demonstrating that the Speed Model was durable as well as fast, Stanley Riley's won every award in its class at the 1909 Scottish Reliability Trial.

Post-WWI, Riley introduced a brace of 11hp sidevalve sports models, the T...