Riley History:
Riley began as the Bonnick Cycle Company of Coventry, England. In 1890, William Riley Jr. purchased the company and renamed it the Riley Cycle Company. Ultimately, the portfolio included cycle gear maker Sturmey Archer. His teenaged son, Percy, began to dabble in automobiles. He built his first car at 16, in 1898, secretly, because his father did not approve. It was the first car seen on the streets of Coventry. It featured the first mechanically operated inlet valve. By 1899, Percy Riley moved from producing motorcycles to his first prototype four-wheeled quadricycle. In 1900, Riley sold a single three-wheeled automobile. In 1903, Percy Riley began the Riley Engine Company, also in Coventry. At first, he simply supplied engines for Riley motorcycles, but the company soon began to focus on four-wheeled automobiles. In 1912, the Riley Cycle Company changed its name to Riley (Coventry) Limited as William Riley focused it on becoming a wheel supplier for the burgeoning motor industry. In early 1913, three of his brothers (Victor, Stanley, and Allan) joined Percy in a new business focused on manufacturing entire automobiles. This Riley Motor Manufacturing Company was located near PercysRiley Engine Company. The first new model, the 17/30, was introduced at the London Motor Show that year. In 1918, after the war, the Riley companies were restructured. Nero joined Riley (Coventry) as the sole producer of automobiles. Riley Motor Manufacturing came under the control of Allan Riley to become Midland Motor Bodies, a coachbuilder for Riley. Riley Engine Company continued under Percy as the engine supplier. Riley grew rapidly through the 1920s and 1930s. Riley Engine produced 4-, 6-, and 8-cylinder engines, while Midland built more than a dozen different bodies. Riley then had several merges thereafter. In fact, it became part of the Nuffield Organization in 1938.This no doubt affected the performance of the company. The confusion became critical in 1952 with the merger of Nuffield and Austin as the British Motor Corporation. Now, Riley was positioned between MG and Wolseley and most Riley models were, like those, little more than badge-engineered versions of Austin/Morris designs. The final model of the BMC era was the Kestrel 1100/1300, based on the Austin/Morris 1100/1300 saloon. This also had stablemates in Wolseley and MG versions. Following objections from diehard Riley enthusiasts, the Kestrel name was dropped for the last facelift in 1968, the Riley 1300.

Riley Overview:
Riley was a British motorcar and bicycle manufacturer from 1890. The company became part of the Nuffield Organization in 1938 and was later merged into British Leyland. Today, the trademark is owned by BMW.

Other Riley Details:
Riley production ended in the 1960s, and the marque went dormant. The last Riley badged car was produced in 1969, a shadow of its engineering peak. However, the 2000 divestment of the MG Rover Group by BMW brought some renewed attention to the marque. Along with Mini/MINI, BMW retained the rights to Triumph and Riley. Perhaps the German company will revive the name on a future MINI model. It was revealed in March, 2007 that William Riley, a claimed descendant of the original Riley, wished to restart Riley production with a version of the MG SV.In May 2007 it was announced that a deal was close to being signed to begin production which would be based in Bispham, Blackpool in a purpose built factory on Bispham Technology Park and close to the former factory of TVR