RILEY - 16/4 PRODUCTION FIGURES

as Old as the Industry, as modern as the Hour

Total Riley 16/4 & 16hp Production

Riley 16/4's were built in 1937/8, and followed by the replacement 16hp cars for 1939/40, although they were never built in any significant quantity. Below are the number of Riley 16/4 Chassis that left the Factory in each model year, regardless of bodywork.
Model Years:
  • 1938 314
  • 1939 113
    Total 427
    • This is based on the chassis numbers, where '38' cars range from 1001 - 1314 and '49' cars from 1501 - 1613.

    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 16/4 model.

    Below is a list of how many of each body were probably built on the Riley 16/4 Chassis.

    Model IdentifiedDuplicates?Total ProjectedRegister
    Adelphi 16/4 38A 106 2 104 170 160
    Continental 16/4 38B17 1 16 27 30
    Kestrel 16/4 38K 72 2 70 114 120
    Lynx 16/4 38L 1 - 1 1 1
    Touring Saloon 16/4 38B1 - 1 2 or 3 2 or 3
    Maltby Redfern 16/4 38B1 - 1 1 1
    Total 199 5 194 314 314
    16 Saloon 49S 17 - 17 75 80
    16 DHC 49D 1 - 1 5 15
    16 Kestrel 49K 7 - 7 33 18
    Total 25 - 25 113 113

    Notes

  • The 'Identified' column is cars listed in David Styles book 'As old as the Industry' as well as those listed by Vernon Barker in his book on 16/4 models, and other cars that I, or others, have 'found' (in old membership lists / books / photos).
  • 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 '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 '16/4 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 disregarded.
  • It is known that only one Lynx and one Maltby Redfern were built.