The 14/6 range also underwent some changes, with the Stelvio and Alpine continuing, while the new Edinburgh 5-seater Limousine was launched, along with the Winchester, a slightly more moderate car. All of the 9hp 'sports' bodies (ie: no the Monaco or Ascot) were also now available. However, all of the 9hp bodies were made available on the 12/6 chassis, although the Monaco was called the Mentone, as the bodywork had to be adapted more than the others to fit the chassis. By Mid-1933 the Riley Motor Club had become the largest single-make motor club in the world, with over 2,000 members. Many more racing successes were made during 1933, further promoting Rileys. For 1934, many improvements were made across the range, but the only all new car was the Imp. This was a 2-door, 2-seater sports tourer, essentially intended to succeed the long-departed Brooklands. The Kestrel, and Lynx were also modified in appearance, as were the Mentone and 14/6 Stelvio. In addition, all of the closed-saloons were now metal bodied, and it was the last year for the fabric bodied Tourers as well. In Mid-1934, Riley started public testing of another new car - the MPH. This car was essentially a 6-cylinder Imp, and apart from a longer bonnet and only 2 seats, it looked nearly identical.
For 1935 another new engine was launched - the 12/4. This was a completely new design, although it bore many resemblances to the existing Riley engines. It quickly replaced the 12/6, which lost demand to the new 1½ Litre engine. This new chassis featured a completely new Falcon body, which later replaced the existing falcon throughout the range, and also a modified Kestrel body, at launch. In addition, the 14/6 engine was replaced with a new 15/6, which took all of the standard bodies, as well as the new Stelvio.
Racing successes still abounded for the Riley teams, and for many races, Rileys were THE cars to beat in their class. 1936 saw some major changes to the Riley range, with a modified Falcon body, and new Merlin, intended to replace the 9hp Monaco, and 12hp Mentone, as the 'base' model. In addition, a new V8 engine was introduced, and many of the lesser models were dropped. The range now consisted of 23 cars:
9hp: Merlin and Kestrel.
12/4: Merlin, Kestrel (now 6-light), Falcon, Lynx, and the new Adelphi.
15/6: Kestrel, Falcon, Lynx, Adelphi and MPH.
8/90: Kestrel and Adelphi.
Many of the models in the range were also available as 'special series' (making the 23), an idea which was launched in about 1930, and basically consisted of uprated suspension, engines and gearboxes to give a sportier feel to the car. Extra body features were also included. The 8/90 V8 was basically 2 9hp engines places at 90° to each other. It was not a success, and only about 25 are believed to have been built.
In addition, Riley later launched the all new Sprite, a 2-seater sports with streamlined front end and the 12/4 engine.
"....we make far too many models of course. But then we have a pretty fertile design department, and we like making nice, interesting cars." - Riley Advertising. Sep.1936.
