The Riley 12/6 was a car made by the British
Riley company from late 1932 (for the 1933 model year
) to 1935.
It had a 1458 cc
straight-six engine with twin cams and either single, twin or triple S.U carburettors. The transmission was either a four speed
manual or optional
preselector gearbox
A preselector gearbox is a type of manual transmission mostly used on passenger cars and racing cars in the 1930s, in buses from 1940-1960 and in armoured vehicles from the 1930s to the 1970s. The defining characteristic of a preselector gearbox ...
. They were capable of a top speed of around .
The chassis was a lengthened version of the one used on the
Riley Nine
The Riley Nine was one of the most successful light sporting cars produced by the British motor industry in the inter war period. It was made by the Riley company of Coventry, England with a wide range of body styles between 1926 and 1938.
Desi ...
.
They were available in Mentone saloon, Kestrel saloon, Lincock fixed head coupé, Ascot drophead coupé with dickey seat, Lynx tourer, Falcon saloon, Gamecock tourer and March two seat tourer, MPH two seater trial/sports 2-seater and Trinity 3-position-Drophead-Coupé.
The 12/6 engine was designed to fit in between the 9 and 14/6 engines for trialing and racing purposes. The 9 was 1087 cc, fitting in the 1100 cc class, and the 14/6 was 1633 cc, fitting in the over 1500 cc class. A 1486 cc "Brooklands Six" was developed to compete in the sub-1500 cc International Class F, with two or three cars built in mid-1932.
Another such engine was fitted to an Alpine Tourer for the 1932 Monte Carlo Rally, where it finished second in class.
The 1458 cc 12/6 was derived from the Brooklands Six. The slightly larger "Brooklands" engine continued to see some limited use, such as in the 1933 Riley Grebe prototype and in the TT Six.
[
As the 14/6 was basically a 9 with two extra cylinders on the end, the 9 and 14/6 engines shared the same parts and spares. The 12/6 didn't share parts with any other Riley, so many 12/6s have been bored out to the size of a 14/6 to compensate for spares. All of these engines share the same stroke. The 12/6 has a bore, while the "Brooklands" competition engine has a mm bore.
]
Gallery
Riley 12-6 Ascot 1933.jpg, 1933 Riley 12/6 Ascot drophead coupé
File:1934 Riley 12-6 (40444779550).jpg, 1934 Riley 12/6 Kestrel saloon
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Riley 12 6
12 6
Cars introduced in 1932