Riley 'Kestrel' was a brand name applied by the

Riley Motor RileyInformation extracted from ''Notice issued in compliance with the Regulations of the Committee of The Stock Exchange, London'' (with regard to the issue of 150,000 Preference Shares of £1 each on 17 January 1934). :The Company was incor ...

Car Company and its successors the

Nuffield Organization Nuffield Organization was the unincorporated umbrella-name or promotional name used for the charitable and commercial interests of owner and donor, William Morris, 1st Viscount Nuffield. The name was assumed following Nuffield's gift made to form ...

and the

British Leyland Motor Corporation British Leyland was a British automotive engineering and manufacturing conglomerate formed in 1968 as British Leyland Motor Corporation Ltd (BLMC), following the merger of Leyland Motors and British Motor Holdings. It was partly nationalised ...

to various of their saloon car models. In pre-war Rileys, the Kestrel name typically denoted a sporty model with 'fastback' styling. Some of the cars produced in each of the following models received the Kestrel name, which was then revived in 1965 for a

badge engineered In the automotive industry, rebadging (also known as badge engineering, an intentionally ironic misnomer in that little or no actual engineering takes place) is a form of market segmentation used by automobile manufacturers around the world. T ...

version of the

BMC ADO16 The BMC ADO16 is a range of small family cars built by the British Motor Corporation (BMC) and, later, British Leyland. Launched in 1962, it was Britain's best-selling car from 1963 to 1966 and from 1968 to 1971. The ADO16 was marketed globally ...

: * 1926–1937 — Riley Nine * 1934–1935 — Riley 12/4 * 1935–1938 — Riley 1½ Litre * 1937–1940 — Riley 16 (16/4) 2½-litre * 1965–1969 — A variant of the BMC ADO16/Austin/Morris 1100/1300) File:1934 Riley Kestrel 1100 Saloon at Capel Manor, Enfield, London, England 1.jpg, Riley Nine Kestrel (1934 pictured) File:Riley 12 4 Kestrel Saloon 1935.jpg, Riley 12/4 Kestrel (1935 pictured) File:Riley car, Teignmouth, 15 September 2011 (2).jpg, Riley 1½ Litre (1937 pictured) File:Riley 16HP Kestrel (1938) (18562893249).jpg, Riley 16/4 "Big Four" (1938 pictured) File:1967 Riley Kestrel (12381305104).jpg, Riley Kestrel (1967 pictured)

References

{{Set index article, cars

Kestrel The term kestrel (from , derivative from , i.e. ratchet) is the common name given to several species of predatory birds from the falcon genus ''Falco''. Kestrels are most easily distinguished by their typical hunting behaviour which is to hover ...