The Riley Pathfinder is an

automobile A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods. The year 1886 is regarde ...

which was produced by Riley Motors Limited in the United Kingdom from 1953 to 1957. It was first presented at the

London Motor Show London Motor Show, formerly the London Motorfair, is a motor show in England. It was held biannually at Earls Court Exhibition Centre, from 1977 to 1999. When the event won the support of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders and P&O ...

in October 1953 and replaced the RMF as Riley's top-line model. Designed as the "RMH" just before the 1952 merger of Riley-parent, the Nuffield Organization, with Austin to form BMC, the Pathfinder is seen as the last proper Riley car. It used Riley's , 2.5-litre — — twin-cam, "Big Four" straight-4 engine fitted with twin SU carburettors and had a separate all-steel chassis with

coil spring A selection of conical coil springs The most common type of spring is the coil spring, which is made out of a long piece of metal that is wound around itself. Coil springs were in use in Roman times, evidence of this can be found in bronze Fib ...

rear (this was changed to leaf springs towards the end of production) and front torsion bar independent suspension. From 1956, an overdrive gearbox became optional. The Girling

drum brakes A drum brake is a brake that uses friction caused by a set of shoes or pads that press outward against a rotating cylinder-shaped part called a brake drum. The term ''drum brake'' usually means a brake in which shoes press on the inner surfac ...

had a Clayton Dewandre Vac Hydro Servo fitted as standard. In the front, buyers could choose between two single seats and the optional full width bench seat, with the front corner of the seat squab contoured so as to accommodate the gear lever and allow seating for three. The rear seat had a fold down centre armrest and leather covers were used. A heater was fitted as standard. The car was available in black, maroon, green, blue or grey finish. The gear lever was floor mounted by the driver's door, so drivers in right hand drive markets had to change gear with their right hand. The handbrake was operated by a lever under the dashboard in both bench and individual front seat versions. 1955 Riley Pathfinder 2

The body was similar in appearance to the

Wolseley 6/90 The Wolseley 6/90 is a car produced by Wolseley Motors Limited in the United Kingdom from 1954 to 1959. Announced on the first day of the October 1954 British Motor Show,New Wolseley Car. ''The Times'', Wednesday, Oct 20, 1954; pg. 5; Issue 530 ...

, although there were detail differences such as the Riley's opening bonnet including the radiator grille, whereas the Wolseley's grille was fixed. The Riley was launched in 1953 and the Wolseley in 1954, and both were designed by

Morris Morris may refer to: Places Australia *St Morris, South Australia, place in South Australia Canada * Morris Township, Ontario, now part of the municipality of Morris-Turnberry * Rural Municipality of Morris, Manitoba ** Morris, Manitob ...

' Gerald Palmer for the Nuffield Organization before the merger. All Pathfinders featured the front independent suspension developed from the RMF, but the sophisticated Riley rear suspension was replaced by a conventional

leaf spring A leaf spring is a simple form of spring commonly used for the suspension in wheeled vehicles. Originally called a ''laminated'' or ''carriage spring'', and sometimes referred to as a semi-elliptical spring, elliptical spring, or cart spring, i ...

type in the last few examples. An essential part of the location of the rear axle was a

Panhard rod A Panhard rod (also called Panhard bar, track bar, or track rod) is a suspension link that provides lateral location of the axle. Originally invented by the Panhard automobile company of France in the early twentieth century, this device has been ...

which on some early examples sheared on hard cornering resulting in the unfortunate 'Ditchfinder' nickname. A car tested by '' The Motor'' magazine in 1955 had a top speed of and could accelerate from 0- in 16.8 seconds. A fuel consumption of was recorded. The test car cost £1240 including taxes. The Pathfinder was replaced by the short-lived Wolseley 6/90-derived Riley Two-Point-Six in 1957.

Die-cast models

Corgi The Welsh Corgi ( or Corgi, plural Corgis, or occasionally the etymologically consistent Corgwn; ) is a small type of herding dog that originated in Wales. The name ''corgi'' is derived from the Welsh words and (which is mutated to ), mean ...

No. 205 (production 1956–61), Riley Pathfinder, approximately

O scale O scale (or O gauge) is a scale commonly used for toy trains and rail transport modelling. Introduced by German toy manufacturer Märklin around 1900, by the 1930s three-rail alternating current O gauge was the most common model railroad sca ...

(1:44). *Corgi No. 205M (production 1956–59) Riley Pathfinder, approximately O-scale (1:44) with friction drive. *Corgi No. 209 (production 1958–61), Riley Pathfinder Police car, approximately O-scale (1:44). *Base Toys produced a 00 scale model of the Riley PathfinderBase C500 Series - Riley Pathfinder, toysnz.com
Retrieved 21 November 2015

Die-cast models

References

Further reading