1951 Riley 1 1/2-Litre

The 1 1/2-Litre RM (the engine size denoted by the dark blue radiator badge) was Riley’s first post-WW2 new car, a rear-wheel-drive sporting saloon with a propeller-shaft semi-enclosed in a torque-tube, Girling hydro-mechanical brakes, independent front torsion bar suspension, and leaf springs and a spiral bevel axle at the rear. The elegant body was mounted on a wooden frame.

Riley publicly announced the RMA in August 1945, and sales commenced in 1946. Few were initially available on the home market, and British motorists could only dream of its 80mph top speed and its cabin with leather-trimmed seats and telescopic steering column, all for £710 (plus Purchase Tax).

After 1949 a fixed pane replaced the opening windscreen on the driver’s side. In 1950 the RM gained new instruments.

The RME succeeded the Riley RMA in the summer of 1952; early versions shared the older model’s prop shaft and rear axle, but a Hardy Spicer unit and lower ratio hypoid axle soon replaced these. The RME also boasted hydraulic braking and a larger rear window, all for £1,339.

In September 1953 the RME received a facelift; no running boards, rear wheel spats and integral mounted fog lamps. Production ceased in 1955 with no real replacement - the One Point Five, the next Riley with a 1.5-litre engine - was a very different type of car.

The 1 1/2-Litre RMs were only officially available as a saloon, although Riley made its larger 2 1/2-Litre (pale blue radiator badge) stablemate in open topped forms.

A 1,496cc OHV I-4 engine with a single SU carburettor powered the RMA and RME. Transmission is a 4-speed manual box with no synchromesh on bottom gear. Any RM had styling and design tropes that hark back to the 1930s from the split front windshield and the thick pillars to rear-hinged front doors. But this is also a car that was influenced by the Traction Avant, with very entertaining handling, precise steering, a very flexible engine and the ability to happily cruise at 60mph.

The Riley RMA’s and RME’s chassis is robust, but all structural timber is prone to rotting – two areas of particular concern are the roof, as that distinctive leathercloth covering is prone to leaking rainwater onto the wooden frame, and the beam behind the running boards. Regarding metalwork, steel panels corrode and careful checks should be made of the area around the A-pillars. Also, beware of poorly maintained hydro-mech brakes. The Riley RM Club is an excellent source of spares and general wisdom.

When the last RME left the factory, it marked the end of Riley’s independent identity. For that reason alone, any RM should be celebrated, but it is also a car that can fulfil the marque’s famous slogan of providing the owner with ‘magnificent motoring’.

Competitors were varied and include the MG YA/YB Saloon, the Singer SM 1500 and Hunter, the Sunbeam-Talbot 80, the Lea Francis 14, the Jowett Javelin, the Lanchester 14, and the Citroen Light 15.