Description From a deceased estate; mechanical overhaul by Red Diamond in 1994; bodywork restored at a cost of over £33k in 2006; went to Le Mans and back in 2012; ready for new adventures Riley produced an astonishingly wide variety of sporting road cars during the 1920s and '30s, sales being boosted by an impressive competition record which helped establish the Coventry marque.

The bedrock of Riley’s success was the immortal Nine which they launched in 1926.

Introduced at the 1934 Olympia Motor Show, the Riley 12/4 successfully built on the Nine’s greatest strength – its superb twin-cam engine.

Modified and enlarged to 1.5-litres, the new engine produced 51bhp and gave the 12/4 a top speed in excess of 70mph, impressive performance for its class.

Three bodies were available on the 12/4 chassis (an unusally low number by Riley standards!), the more traditional, upright Falcon saloon being joined by the more racy looking Kestrel, with an open Lynx model for the wind-in-the-hair bri...