1950 Riley RMC 2. 5-Litre Roadster

Remarks

Immediately post-war, Riley were clearly confident that they knew exactly what the market needed. Noting the number of American servicemen returning home with their MGs and Jaguars, they decided that their RM Series would be a good place to start and an RMB was requisitioned, decapitated, suitably strengthened, restyled in a manner that Riley management thought would turn the heads of American buyers, and the resulting RMC Roadster was launched in 1948 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, and the lack of rear seat allowed a larger boot. 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 the `big four' 2443cc hemi-head engine having twin camshafts mounted high in the cylinder block, mated to four-speed manual transmission. Quoted as having 100bhp and 134lbft of torque on tap, it could almost reach the magic `ton'.