Works Supported 1937 Monte Carlo Rally Entrant, 3rd in Class

1937 Riley Sprite Two Seater Sports

1,496cc, 4-Cylinder Inline Engine
Twin carburetors
4-Wheel Drum Brakes with Hydraulic assistance
Semi-Elliptic Leaf Spring Suspension

*Rare Riley Model, with period racing history
*Documented
*Mille Miglia Storico Eligible
*FIVA and FIA Papers, Mille Miglia Registro Approved
*Mille Miglia Registro Approved
*Sympathetically restored and well-presented


THE RILEY SPRITE

'The best of the series was the Sprite, which... had a distinctly lively performance up to its maximum of nearly 90mph...' – John Stamford, The Sports Car, Batsford 1957.

Introduced in 1926, Percy Riley's 9hp, 1,087cc twin-camshaft four was an outstanding engine design by any standards, various versions powering Rileys until 1957. Clothed in stylish bodywork by Stanley Riley, the Coventry marque's pre-war offerings were among the world's finest small-capacity sporting cars.
Percy Riley's proven twin-camshaft layout was retained for the new Hugh Rose-designed 1½-liter four introduced in September 1934. The Falcon saloon made its debut on this new 12hp chassis, which was also available with the familiar Kestrel saloon and Lynx tourer coachwork. The following year the range was augmented by the Sprite two-seater sports and three more saloons: the Adelphi and six-light Kestrel on the 112.5" long-wheelbase chassis and the shorter-wheelbase (106") all-steel Merlin. In Standard trim the 1.5-liter 12/4 engine produced 45/46bhp with single Zenith carburetor. The Special Series came with twin SUs and 52bhp while at the top of the range was the 59/61bhp Sprite specification engine that added £48 to the car's purchase price.

In its 'TT' guise the new Sprite more than upheld Riley's sporting traditions, winning the Ulster Tourist Trophy in both 1935 and 1936 with the legendary Freddie Dixon at the wheel, while there were numerous privateer successes at Brooklands and elsewhere. Dixon's winning car formed the basis for the production Sprite two-seater introduced at the 1935 Motor Show. Clearly related to that of the existing Imp and MPH sports cars, the Sprite's handsome streamlined bodywork was distinguished by a 'fencer's mask' front grille, which many, but not all wore. The chassis was MPH based and under-slung at the rear, while there was a choice of either manual or Wilson pre-selector transmissions. The Sprite was priced at £425 when launched and continued in production until 1938.

THE MOTORCAR OFFERED

Looking every bit the handsome mid-1930s British sportscar that you would expect it to, this beautiful Riley Sprite has an illustrious and well documented history, which intertwines with the factory Works itself and period competition use.

As new it was supplied to William L. Innes, referred to as 'Bill' or 'Les', who was an apprentice at Riley, and was received by him at the start of 1937, being registered for the road on January 7, 1937, with the local Coventry 'Works' license plate of 'CDU 63', like its predecessor the MPH, the car wore a non-cowled chrome radiator, and had a standard gearbox rather than preselector. That early January date was just ahead of the Monte Carlo Rally which he intended to campaign. Choosing a start point of Umea in Sweden, his entry is understood to have been backed by the Works, perhaps ensuring its successful arrival some 2,346 miles later in Monaco! In fact, he was 23rd to arrive of 81 finishers, which distilled by class put him a very respectable 3rd in the under 1,500cc class, better still he posted the fastest time in the Final Tests in the principality. Fresh from this success, it either passed to, or was then campaigned by, Roger F Peacock, also a Riley apprentice in a series of events around the British Isles:

1937
MCC Lands End Trials – March 26 and 27 – Bronze Award

1938
MCC Lands End Trials – April 15 and 16 – Silver Award
MCC Edinburgh Trials – June 3 and 4 – Bronze Award
MCC Exeter Trials – January 6 and 7 – Silver Award
JCC Donington Park Race - Entrant

1939
MCC Lands End Trials – April 7 and 8 – Silver Award
MCC Edinburgh Trials – May 26 and 27 – Premier Award
Riley Motor Club 24 Hours Trial – June – no results known

In among the timeline of those, Bill Innes also used the car in the Riley Motor Club's 'Riley Twenty-Four' an overnight trial in Scarborough in June 1937, gaining a First Class Award.

Through period images of many of these events, the car can be seen to be run with both fully valanced fenders (wings) as well as cycle fenders, perhaps depending on the terrain that it was challenging. At the 'Monte' a shovel is seen to be attached to the passenger side fender, giving some idea of the perils that might have been expected between Sweden and Monaco!

At the outset of War, the Riley vanishes from competition and was no doubt stored safely. According to its original buff log book on file, by February 27, 1947, it was the property of Edward Barris of Guildford, who kept the car until 1960, when it passed briefly to Stanley A. Burville in Wembley, Middlesex, before 'flipping' a month later to Robert 'Bob' Baxter in May 1960 and moving north to Wallesley in Cheshire. It is understood that Baxter had every intention of turning the Sprite into TT Sprite Replica, but this pipe-dream never materialized, instead the Sprite remained a dormant project for many years. In 1999 it was acquired by an Alan Voigts who set about returning the car to its former glory, and a proper restoration of the car began, with the bodywork being supplied to C J Jarvis & Son, Vintage Coachbuilders, who reframed it, retaining the original skins and incorporating its iconic 'bumblebee' tail panel, still wearing its rich blue paintwork and 'CDU' plate. The open sided fenders which had been with the car since its early days were also retained. All the while the mechanical aspect remained with Voigts.

The project stalled once more, until it was acquired by pre-war specialist Nick Benwell, who carefully retrieved all the components and began its restoration. Recalling the find today, Mr. Benwell noted how individual some of its features actually were, which he attributes to the Works support, items such as brake backing plates being in magnesium.

Loosely reassembled but not restored, the car changed hands again, and in those ensuing years, the Riley was returned to the road once and for all and sympathetically refurbished, with much of the work carried out by noted Riley expert Duncan Ricketts.

In the course of the last few years, the car has been further improved in terms of its aesthetics and today stands as beautiful example of its breed, finished in a deep navy blue paintwork scheme, which is accented perfectly by its chrome trim, from radiator to windshield and to its tail with the aluminum spine down its tail. Latterly, it has had maintenance carried out by Northumberland Engineering in the USA and when en route to the Mille Miglia, by Simon Bish of SPB Historics. This has seen attention to the mechanicals, electrics and gearbox, as well as subsequent support on that event.

Both the Riley MPH and Sprite Models have become increasingly collectible in the last decade, being prized not only for their exquisite looks but also their usability in contemporary events. For the latter, such as this car, by merit of its use in period, that includes the Mille Miglia retrospective, which 'CDU 63' has been entered for both in 2020 and 2021 and has successfully completed. Equipped with Registro acceptance, it has been entered by the current owner for this year's edition and is pending acceptance. By merit of age, it is an early top 100 starter on the Mille Miglia and benefits from a high coefficient of 1.6, improving chance of success.

For those previous events, its period bucket seats were replaced with a more commodious bench seat set up, and it is in this form that it is presented today, as well as being accompanied with the period individual seats.

The car was also shown by the current owner here in Amelia Island at the Concours in 2020, where it was handled by the late David George and his team. It recently won its class at the Newport Audrain Concours d'Elegance in 2021 also. CDU 63 / Sprite 6031 has everything going for it, fresh preparation, incredible looks and usability, it is ready to be campaigned once again, as it did originally 85 years ago.

Please note at the time of cataloguing, the acceptance for the 2022 edition of the Mille Miglia is pending. Should this be successful, the completion of the application and costs for entry would need to be negotiated with the seller.