Description
1950 Riley RMC 2, 5 Litre Roadster £34, 995
We are again fortunate in acquiring one of these rare, impressive cars .. a genuine flagship-of-the line RMC Open-Top Roadster, of which only 507 were built, largely by hand, with only 100 RHD like this one for the home market, with floor-mounted gearshift and improved steering.
It is an exceptional example, a real head turner, which has been restored from front to back, by a traditional coachbuilder. The 2-5 litre engine was overhauled by Formhalls Vintage Racing Ltd (FVR) in 2010, with full evidential paperwork, and has only covered around 6, 000 miles since. Also, the car has recently undergone a full re-commissioning check by CORMAN Ltd (£2000 +) the RM Specialist Engineers in Stafford, so is now ready for a new owner to enjoy and show.
Specifically designed to appeal to the opulent North American market, unusual features of this iconic model include sleek, low-slung, bodywork, with cutaway doors, compact hood, lower bonnet line, fold-flat windscreen, three-abreast seating, large rear stowage area, 20 imperial gallon tank, and 4 over-riders per bumper ? known as ?cow catchers?.
Attractive colour combination in Buttermilk with Burgundy interior, and with wing beading and weather gear to tone. Bodywork, panel fit and door gaps all spot on.
A fine example of British engineering ? you surely won?t go unnoticed, when you roll up to your local Classic Car event in this flamboyant Roadster, with its sweeping Great Gatsby era bodylines, ready to collect a lot of awards to boot. Offered at a fraction of the monies expended on it to date, this automotive beauty will steadily appreciate (better investment than money in the bank!)
Comes with V5, MOT ?s from 2006, Old tax discs, Past ownership history. Full tonneau cover, History folder with lots of invoices, Restoration photos, Spare set of keys. MOT, Road Tax and ULEZ exemption. Valuable cherished plate (worth £3, 000) included.
Car located in Lytham St Annes, Lancashire. Viewings anytime by prior appointment. Transport arranged at £1. 70 pr/ mile (one way only charged) For more info on this exclusive Riley call John on telephone number quoted above.
History of the Marque
In the grim economic environment of the immediate post-war years, the UK motor industry was under intense government pressure to ?export or die?. Efforts were largely directed towards the vast potential of the booming and profitable North American market, although it quickly became clear that the average British car was unsuited to both American tastes and road conditions.
Riley?s answer to this problem was the RMC Roadster, a glamorous convertible, with a long, sweeping tail, exaggerated cow-catcher bumpers and an exposed spare wheel. A bench-type front seat was fitted, as was the USA-favoured column gear change, though this proved troublesome in operation and was quickly replaced with a conventional floor shift.
Based on the same low-slung chassis as its RMB saloon sibling, its sleek two-door bodywork featured cutaway doors, a compact hood, fold-flat windscreen and three abreast seating. An engaging drive courtesy of independent torsion bar front suspension, a 'live' rear axle, Girling four-wheel hydro-mechanical drum brakes and rack and pinion steering, it was powered by a 2443cc 'twin-cam' four-cylinder engine mated to four-speed manual transmission.
Quoted as having some 100bhp and 134lbft of torque on tap, it was reputedly capable of over 90mph. Woefully it omitted to wow the American public, thus the RMC was quietly dropped in 1951, after just 507 are thought to have been made, virtually all in left-hand drive, and only 280 are now believed to survive worldwide.
