1930s Riley Four-Window Kestrel

The British Riley was a mid-range brand in the 1930s with a performance image.  During that decade, the firm marketed a too-broad range of sedans and sporty cars based on several engines.  One result was that the company was placed in receivership early in 1938, and then purchased by William Morris who gradually integrated Riley into his automotive empire.

One of Riley's interesting designs from a styling standpoint was the Kestrel.  Information on some of the various Riley platforms with Kestrel bodies is here.

Kestrel saloon (sedan) designs came in two flavors -- four-window and six-window.  Except that British usage was "Four-Light" and "Six-Light" -- terms that suggest to naïve Yanks such as me that they were referring to small-bodied four and six cylinder cars.  Oh, well.

Four-Light Kestrels appeared first, as early as 1932.  That was very early in automobile streamlining days.  By 1934 and 1935 there were several other British cars with visual streamlining in the form of rounded rear profiles.   I wrote about one example, the Triumph Gloria with its "Airline" body from 1934 here.

Those "Airline" cars were minimally aerodynamic at best, because their front ends were hardly streamlined at all, frontal streamlining being far more important than rear end streamlining in most cases.

Below are images of three Riley Kestrel Four-Light cars.

Gallery

1933 Riley 9 Kestrel Four-Light - car-for-sale photo
The nearly-vertical radiator, scooped-open fenders, and large, separately mounted lights all were anti-streamlining.

However, the windshield was slightly raked back.  And the rear profile was rounded, rather than squared-off vertically.  Those side window irregular shapes remind me of cockpit windows on Boeing 787 jetliners.

The backlight window is large for its time.

1934 Riley 9 Kestrel Four-Light - car-for-sale photo
Another early Kestrel, this with two-tone paint.

Doors are hinged on the B-pillar in order to allow their irregular shapes to open.

1935 Riley Kestrel 1.5 Litre Four-Light - Bonhams Auctions photo
1935 Kestrel Four-Lights were lightly facelifted.  For example, fender skirts are larger.

The radiator grille is sloped at a greater angle.

The rear roofline now merges smoothly with the lower rear end, altering the two-toning pattern.  And the spare tire now has a cover.  Interesting that none of the cars shown here have bumpers of any kind.