1930 Riley 9 Brooklands listed at Amelia Island auction

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Were I to walk among the automotive candidates set to feature in RM Sotheby’s upcoming Amelia Island auction, it would be a particularly low-set and slender motorcar that would instantly transport me to the best years of motorsport in the UK. Surrounded by numerous beautiful motorcars that stand tall and display their wares with pride, you’d actually be lucky to see the car that’s caught my eye for it sits so low to the ground that, were you to sit inside, you would be able to touch the ground with ease. Instead of functioning as a luxurious coach for high society, this 1930 Riley 9 Brooklands was built specifically for the thrill of motor-racing. Finished in gleaming black and possessing a waspish waist most women would likely envy, how I would love to borrow this Riley 9 and briefly drive it around at the banked circuit of Brooklands from which it originated. 

Don’t let the understated design fool you into thinking this British classic might not be up to much. When it comes to racing, less is certainly more. In these circumstances the more stripped back the luxuries, the more potential there is for performance underneath. This particular Riley was developed by Thompson & Taylor and was reportedly the first produced to Brooklands specification, with a light-weight aluminium body and a chassis shortened by 15 inches.

At a 1927 BARC race, a Brooklands prototype took first honours over the hefty competition, winning at an average speed of 91.4 mph. This should’ve come as no surprise to motor-racing driver and once Land Speed Record holder John Parry-Thomas as well as renowned engineer Reid Railton had both directly contributed to the Riley 9 Brooklands vehicles. Many of these were fitted with high-compression pistons and special camshafts resulting in 50 bhp at 5000 rpm - the same specification gracing the Irish Grand Prix cars of 1930 and 1931!

In 1931, this particular Riley 9 Brooklands was sold to Whitney Straight, a British racing driver who competed with the car at Brooklands and Shelsley Walsh. It was then owned for a time by Denis Jenkinson, a renowned motoring writer who enjoyed racing and acting as navigator for some of the big names in the sport. Both owners would likely have revelled in the cornering that the Riley 9 Brooklands can achieve thanks to its lowered chassis - a common feature on the early 1930s racing cars that utilised the benefits of a very low centre of gravity.

In 2003, the Riley 9 Brooklands was sold to Dr. Greg Johnson, who painstakingly researched the vehicle’s history in order to restore it to original condition as it would have been raced by Straight and Jenkinson. The Riley 9 still retains its original chassis frame, engine and gearbox as well as the majority of the original body including the sleek tail. Since then, this Riley has participated in numerous events including Le Mans Classic, Le Mans Legends and Monterey Historics.

Joining the 1930 Riley 9 Brooklands in sun-kissed Florida will be a further twenty-five pre-war vehicles, all due to go under the hammer at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel on Saturday 10^th March 2018.

Words by Gillian Carmoodie. Photographs courtesy RM Sotheby’s.

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