Riley Imp

Could I be the world record keeper for most numerous Imp proprietor ? After a series between 5 and 10 in my ownership of the only initially 75 produced by the Riley factory, let me present you my latest Imp acquisition. AVU 808 is one of the very first Imp models produced and very well known by the Riley Owners' Club. This car has an interesting prewar race history (among which the Winter Trial in 1935-36) which I hope to obtain in a more detailed way by the Imp archivist shortly. Period photographs show this elegant sportscar in the hands of the 1st owner. Amazing is the fact that the car had only a few long term owners. The last one for a period of 43 years ! The old logbook and successive British V5 registration documents, prove this clearly. After an engine rebuild by specialist Ian Gladstone in the mid 80-ies, the Imp covered only approx. 10.000 miles since. Engine and preselector gearbox are functioning very well. The cars' reliability can be deducted from a participation at the Alpes Retro rally in 1994. The last 10 years, the Imp was stored and not driven any more. Some recent excercise and sorting out in the hands of some classic car friends in Belgium and the UK, brought back rather quickly, her excellent mechanical health . AVU 808 now has again a valid MOT. Body and trim must be described as a little bit tired but with fantastic charming patina. Even the original leather from the upholstery is available in a cardboard box. The dashboard shows an attractive display of original instruments which all work perfectly. By now the attentive reader understands : this charming and original Imp with fantastic history is a prewar sporstcar not to be missed. Certainly not at my low selling price of only 77.500 euro. These models fetched (when available) much higher prices recently !