Historian sells Riley Special on his 80th birthday

| 16 Apr 2014

Respected historian and award-winning author Karl Ludvigsen is due to auction his unique Riley Special with H&H at the Imperial War Museum in Duxford, Cambridgeshire on 24 April.

Riley never built a true sports car during the post-war Nuffield era, but it wasn’t short on quality engineering with the RM range. In the early 1980s Dennis Ramsay, a talented Scottish motor engineer, decided to create the car he thought Riley should have produced.

1954 Riley Ramsay interior

The two-year project used a shortened RM chassis with tuned 2443cc four-cylinder, twin-camshaft engine moved back in the frame all clothed in a stylish two-seater aluminium body. The well-conceived design featured leather trim, hideaway convertible top and sidescreens.

Back in 2000 the fascinating project tempted Ludvigsen, who has used it regularly over the past 14 years but has now decided it's time for the 1954 Riley Ramsay, named after its designer/builder, to have a new home. The estimate is £20-25,000.

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