Development work on a standard Riley chassis by engineers/drivers J G Parry Thomas and Reid Railton so inspired the Riley Board that they sanctioned the designing and building of a two-seater sports car, designated the 'Brooklands'.

It featured the well tried and tested four-cylinder, pushrod-operated, twin camshaft engine, displacing 1,087cc, and a lowered chassis and was to dominate the 1100cc class in international competition in the late 1920s and into the next decade.

It was from this competition experience that the design of Riley's sporting two-seater Imp, launched in 1933, was developed, a light sports car built on a shortened 7ft 6in wheelbase chassis with appealing styling from every aspect.

This Imp, was first registered with Southampton County Borough Council on 7th November 1935 and, although its very early history is not recorded, it is known to have been trialled pre-war by one J.P.Hill.

John Gathercole's standard work, 'The Riley Imp.' illustrates OW 7859 tackling t...