Amilcar Riley "registered 121"
| Bezeichnung/description | Amilcar Riley Special   |
| Jahrgang/year | 1928 |
| Kennzeichen/registration | n/a |
| Chassis-Basis/chassis base | Amilcar M Type |
| Chassisnummer/chassisnumber | M-74307 |
| Chassisjahrgang/chassis year | 1928 |
| Motortyp/engine typ | Riley Nine |
| Motornummer/engine number |
15878
|
| Motorjahrgang/engine year | 1928 |
| Bodyhersteller/bodymanufacturer | n/a |
| Renngeschichte/race history | The Amilcar is probably the most popular of all the French pre-war sports cars certainly within the ranks of the Vintage Sports Car Club (VSCC). This is reiterated by the large gathering around the Oak tree opposite the Bonham’s enclosure at VSCC Prescott every year! Sadly there aren’t many seen in active competition in the UK. Having witnessed the Legendry MCO on the banking at Montlhery 2015 from the roof of the 1924 Pavilion, were I was exhibiting, I was staggered by the performance of that 300kg single seater – and to me it’s a real shame we can’t entice the car over to the UK to compete along with a few C6 Amilcar’s. The solution however may now be presented, as the car I now offer here for sale could hold the crown as one of, if not the quickest Amilcar based specials in the UK. The car offered. The Chassis and axles come from a 1928 Amilcar M type; the existing bodywork and engine were long gone when Charles Ullmann acquired the kit in the late 1990’s. The M type chassis is a beautifully simple and lightweight affair with almost sexy front axle and brake assembly, easily to set up rod brakes, which are individually adjustable with, attractive finned drums. Effective brakes are another important factor when racing, being able to brake later than your competitor is a way to gain vital seconds. A great deal of care was taken when developing the 1100cc Riley engine. A Phoenix crank and rods at it’s heart and unique specially developed cams help the 68bhp at the flywheel to be obtained (set up at Stanton Motorsport). This gives an impressive power to weight ratio, (less than 500kg with wings and lights still in place). Sitting on the black leather seats in the cockpit you’re presented in a fine selection of matching white-faced instruments. The push button lighting switch panel is a real joy to operate and wasn’t easy a find, but it is in details like this that make a car special. The gearbox is also Riley (Silent 3rd?) with a gated Brooklands remote to select the specially developed close ratios. No expense was spared at any point and this is evident. The mix of a Riley 9 engine in an Amilcar chassis is nothing new. It is rumored that Prince Bira was one of the first racers to do this, during his formative circuit years at Brooklands in the late 1920’s. This fact may have helped this car gain FIA Papers back in 2008.Like all contemporary specials the story of Price Bira and Brooklands was the catalyst for another man’s vision for the ultimate Amilcar/Riley 1100cc racer. Who is Charles Ullmann? MSA scrutineer and business owner, Charles like many business owners was and is an incredibly busy chap. Having spent some time with him recently on other projects unrelated to this Amilcar. I can safely say he’s a man with great engineering thought process and bubbling with well-conceived development ideas. No expense was spared in the building of his vision, and engineers and craftsmen were each selected for their individual expertise, and were those considered to be the best in the business. The plan for this car was to build the ultimate 1100cc racer, and great consideration was made as to the weight, as well and handling and braking performance. As such this car weight in at 500kg and can be pushed along easily with one hand. Charles subcontracted the entire build to two companies: Blue Diamond Services under the care of Ian Gladstone and Ian Pitney for the bodywork, each carrying out the work to Charles’ exacting standards. The bills from these add up to well over £56k remember this was at 17.5% VAT and with hourly rates at around half of what is available today. Also a mellowing process which just can’t be done overnight and adds to the attractiveness and desirability of this unique Amilcar. Further conversations with Charles since realising his involvement has reviled new and important information which past custodians including the current were unaware off, namely that the cylinder head is an Ex-Riley works competition unit. He has also eluded to the fact he has further development ideas which would help unlock even more bhp, which he would be happy to share with a new owner, if requested. Resent past The present owner, who is based in France has had seven successful and happy years racing the car with some success at the Angouleme Circuit des Remparts, where the car is loved and very well known even featuring in the 2015 event program. The car has also competed at VSCC Silverstone meetings and taken part in various demonstration events at Reims and Montlhéry in France, and at the Chimay and Mettet circuits in Belgium. In 2007 the car finished second overall in the under 2 litre pre-war race at Angouleme, driven by the owner’s Father. In the 2008 event,in the hands of the owner, the car qualified second and had an equally successfully race with another second place podium - after a 20 minute race around the tight Angouleme streets, the car finished just 4.5 seconds behind the famous record-breaking Amilcar MCO single seater weighs only 350kilos and fitted with a blown 6 cylinder running on methanol! (The VSCC Bulletin report of the race Autumn 2008 features a great photo of the car on the front row of the grid alongside the MCO on pole). Best lap at Angouleme was 1m11.1, (MCO 1m10.1), which would have put the car in 4thplace on the grid for that years Bugatti race! At the 2014 VSCC Spring Start the cars best lap on the Silverstone National circuit was 1m33.48 only 5 hundredths shy of the best lap set by the race winning Wolseley Hornet Special. Current VSCC Buff form 2008 FIA Papers 68bhp at just over 500kg Cycle wings and lights Past DVLA registered Currently registered in Belgium |
| Datum/date | 07.12.2015 |
| Badge no |  121 |
