RILEY - 12/4 PRODUCTION FIGURES

as Old as the Industry, as modern as the Hour

Total Riley 12/4 & 1½ Production

Riley 12/4's were built from 1934 until 1939/40, although towards the end production was a mere trickle! Below are the number of Riley 12/4 Chassis that left the Factory each year, regardless of bodywork.
Model
Years:		ProductionIdentified
Chassis No range		Previous
Assumption
  • 1935
    		•  210022T 101-2200101-2200
  • 1936
    		•  273026x 2201-49212201-5000
  • 1937
    		•  220027x 5001-72005001-7200
  • 1938
    		•  72028x 7201-79187201-7950
    Total 7,7507850
  • 1939
    		•  750*29x 8001-87488001-8650
    Total 8,5008,500
    *The recent discovery of a 12 Saloon with chassis number 8705 has significantly increased the number of Nuffield cars known to have been built (previous estimate was 650). The car was registered in May 1940. A registration record from June 1940 bears chassis number 8748, but is not authenticated.
    Previously it was assumed that all chassis numbers were continuous, with the exception of a suggested gap from c7950-8001. However, with ever more chassis number confirmed, the large gaps from 4922-5000 and 7919-8000 look suspicious, suggesting that Riley twice rounded up to the next xx01 number.
    However, these two points combined generate the same total production figures, but swayed more in favour of the 1939/40 cars.

    Model by Model

    Although no precise records remain, it is still possible to collate details of known cars, and so suggest total production figures for each 12/4 model.

    Below is a list of how many of each body were probably built on the Riley 12/4 Chassis.

    ModelChassis TypesIdentifiedDuplicates?TotalProjectedRegister
    AB
    Adelphi 12/426A; 27A; 28A 621 147 17 751 1554 1800
    Continental 12/427C 65 26 5 86 164 130
    Falcon 12/422T; 26F; 27F 780 232 35 977 2603 2350
    Kestrel 12/422T 139 113 13 239 692
    Kestrel 12/426K; 27K; 28K 354 232 37 549 914
    Kestrel SpriteSS26K; SS27K; SS28K141 43 9 175 357
    634 388 59 963 1964 2000
    Lynx 12/4 22T; 26L; 27L; 28L 177 38 14 201 557
    Lynx Sprite SS26L; SS27L; SS28L 38 18 6 50 96
    215 56 20 251 653 800
    Merlin 12/426M 156 54 15 195 402 525
    Monaco 12/4** - 2 1 1 -
    Sprite 12/426S; 27S; 28S 46 11 4 53 c60 55
    TT Sprite 12/4 - 5 - 5 c10
    Touring Sal 12/428F 41 32 21 52 105 115
    Victor 12/428V 92 35 4 123 235 150
    Special 12/4 - 15 - 15 -
    Total 2650100317134827750 7800
    12 DHC29D 23 6 1 28 109 150*
    12 Saloon29S 135 62 3 194 639 500*

    Notes

  • The 'Identified A' column is is chassis numbers listed in David Styles book 'As old as the Industry' as well as those listed by Vernon Barker in his book on 12/4 models, and other cars that I, or others, have 'found' (in old membership lists / books / photos).
  • The 'Identified B' column is additional cars where the full chassis number is not known.
  • The 'Duplicates?' column is those records which are to some extent dubious, whether as duplicates or complete errors and therefore to be disregarded from the totals. The confusion between Continental & Briggs Touring Saloons is particularly evident.
  • The 'Total' column is the identified figure, less the potential duplicates.
  • The 'Projected' column is my calculated production figures, based on the total figure. I have not incorporated any bias on these figures.
  • The 'Register' column is the figure put forward by Vernon Barker in his Riley Register book '12/4 Production Cars'. These take into account the popularity of each model during the crucial 1950's & 60's, when a lot of cars were destroyed upon failing the MOT.
  • Rebodied chassis are included in original body style where known, otherwise listed as specials.
  • There are also a few other miscellaneous body styles, where only one example is listed by the register. I have presumed that these are period coach-built bodies, and have not listed them due to space limitations.
  • ** The Monaco 12/4 was never officially listed. Although it is possible that a few were built (the 12/4 engine did fit some 9 chassis), it is more likely to be a modern conversion (there are two recorded Monaco 12/4 with 9 series chassis), or a mis-description of an Adelphi which has a similar body and as such have not been included in calculations.