• History

• Specifications Prewar Vehicles Riley 10.8s Riley 11.9s Riley 9s Riley 12/6s Riley 12/4s & 1½Ls Riley 14/6s Riley 15/6s Riley 2½Ls 8/90s & Autovias Nuffield Rileys Riley Bodies ERAs & Healeys Riley RMs BMC Rileys

• Riley Specials

• Motorsport

• Miscellany

• Help

• Contact

• Links

Riley 1½ Victor. (1938)

The Victor 1½ was launched as part of Rileys attempt to stay afloat in late 1937. The car replaced the defunct 1936 Merlin model, and was essentially the same as the Victor 9, with the larger 12/4 engine. The Body was the familiar Briggs unit, mounted on the old Merlin chassis, but the engine was mounted slightly further forward than before to improve front legroom. At the front the new chrome-slat radiator shell had been installed, and there were other detail updates if you looked hard enough. As Briggs had changed over production to the revised Touring Saloon design with the bulbous trunk at the rear, it is unclear whether any of the bodies used on the Victors were new, or if they were simply the old, stockpiled units.

The car failed to sell well even though it was priced at £299, being the same for both models, and although people chose the more powerful 1½ model. As a final effort, it was offered at £325 with the preselector gearbox, but sales failed to improve. It was withdrawn early in 1938 when the receivers were called in, althouhg a few may have been built later to use up parts. Perhaps 150-180 had been built.

Chassis Type: 28V