Introduced in 1926, the Riley 9hp twin-camshaft four-cylinder engine was an outstanding design by any standards with various versions powering Rileys until 1957, so it was not so surprising that to create its first six-cylinder engine the firm simply scaled it up, adding two cylinders.

This new power unit retained the 9hp Four's 60.3mm x 95.2mm bore and stroke dimensions for a total capacity of 1,633cc, and first appeared late in 1928 powering the Stelvio fabric-bodied saloon.
Alternative styles on the Six chassis were the saloon and special tourer, both bodied by Riley's Coventry neighbours, Hancock and Warman.

The Coventry marque's pre-war offerings were among the world's finest small-capacity sporting cars and its new 14/50hp Six was no exception featuring a chassis similar to that of the contemporary Nine, consisting of open, channel-section main members swept up over the rear axle, and measuring 10ft in the wheelbase.
Only a small number of original 14/6 Alpine Tourers were buil...