1935 Riley MPH Roadster

The origins of the Riley can be traced back to 1896. During the 1920s, the Riley was very popular with the sporting motorist. Models such as the Riley Brooklands were competitive in both hill climbs and at Le Mans. They used imaginative produce names for their vehicles in the 1930s; their sedans were called the Merlin, Falcon, Biarritz, or Monaco. The open touring cars had names like Alpine or Gamecock.

The Riley MPH, introduced in 1935, was a larger 6-cylinder sports car, based on the successful 4-cylinder Imp. Only 17 were produced, including the early prototypes. Their roots could be traced back to the introduction of the company's twin-cam 9hp model that was first offered in 1926. Power was from a compact four-cylinder engine that had a displacement size of 1087cc. They were a huge success for Riley, a model which would remain in production for the next decade, during which time around 10,000 examples were sold. Numerous '9's were customized into lightweight, fast, and competitive machines, taking numerous victories at various sporting events.

From 1928 Riley offered the 14/6. It was a more luxurious car with a six-cylinder engine - effectively a 9hp four with the addition of two more cylinders. In traditional Riley fashion, competition versions soon followed, including several TT (Tourist Trophy) Sixes.

This car is one of the most original Riley MPHs in existence. It was imported to Switzerland by Riley distributor Jakob Waeny to compete in European races and hill climbs. One of his best races was at the Preis von Bremgarten near Berne where he finished second behind Baron de Graffenreid's Alfa 6C 1500. The Riley MPH has aluminum bodywork built over a traditional ash frame with a twin-cam, 2-liter straight-6 engine driving through a Wilson Pre-Selector gearbox.

Waeny retained the car until his death in the late 1940s, at which point his MPH rested at their garage for a number of years unused. When Waeny's widow decided to part with the car, it passed to a local young architect by the name of Hans Peter Maerkli. When Maerkli decided to sell the car in 1963, it was quickly purchased by Bob Lutz, of General Motors fame. He had it shipped to America.

By this point in history, the Riley was fitted with a slightly larger 15/6 engine to the Rose design, which was known to be more reliable than the early MPH unit. This may have been a very early upgrade by Waeny.

When Lutz returned to Europe, the Riley came with him. During his time at BMW in Munich, he had his MPH sent to British Restorers Tula Engineering for the car's first and only major restoration. It was given a cosmetic refurbishment in a traditional livery of British Racing Green.

By 2012, the post-restoration mileage was no more than 4,000 kilometers. Since as acquired its odometer had read approximately 71,000kms, it may well only have covered a little under 75,000 kms in its lifetime.

After nearly five decades in Mr. Lutz's care, ownership passed to a new caretaker in 2012. It was then given thorough mechanical servicing. It successfully completed the 1,500-mile Pebble Beach Motoring Classic tour in 2014 and subsequently displayed at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance that year, where it received a Class Award.