The RM Rileys may have been designed after WW2, but the overall appearance of the car was of a graceful pre-war marque. For this reason the RM – R for Riley, M for Motors - series was always going being to be either short lived, or low production, despite the obvious: these were magnificent automobiles. There was something stately about their appearance, both outside and in where they oozed the atmosphere of a swank British gentleman's club. With extensive use of timber and leather the quality was tantalising to the eyes and nose as soon as you stepped into the cabin.

My brother George, at my father's insistence, bought an MB Riley off a friend, who just happened to be the president of the Riley Club of Victoria at that time: we are talking the late 1960s. It was a beautiful example of the breed and finished in what was similar to a British racing green with a black roof. The front doors were hinged off the B-pillar meaning they were `suicide' doors.

The RM stable was one of character. These cars had personality built into them. The bold front with the long vertical grille finishing off the prominent bonnet line, the large head lamps shooting forth from the inside of the mud guards and the front and rear mudguards arched over the wheels gave the car a presence whether viewed from the front, back or side. Some models accentuated the appearance with contrasting paintwork: the bonnet, mudguards, boot and running board was one colour while the bonnet sides, and doors were another, topped off with the black roof.

The RM series started with the RMA in 1945. It was powered by a 1.5 litre four cylinder engine hooked up to a four speed manual transmission. It was succeeded in 1952 by the RME, also a 1.5 litre variant. Our featured cars are the RMB siblings, the RMB a car identical in appearance to the RMA, but longer and powered by Riley's famous 2.5 litre four. The RMB was launched a year later than the RMA, in 1946. The other car is a RMC – a convertible version of the RMB – also powered by the 2.5 litre Riley engine, and launched in 1948.

The longer wheelbase RMB model was succeeded by the RMF, also in 1952. Topping off the RM series was the RMD model, a traditional drophead coupe, also based on the RMB in other words using the longer wheelbase chassis and powered by the 2.5 litre engine. The RMD hit showrooms in 1949. The RMD was a close take on the RMB as it was a four seater and retained the split windscreen. Our featured convertible, the RMC was a far more stylised variant of the RMB with a single fold-flat windscreen, a bench seat accommodating three passengers, although interestingly the car featured here has bucket seats. The doors was also cut and curved and behind the seats is a large deck area. One of the more unusual aspects of the RMC is the use of dual bumper over-riders at the front and rear.

These were large cars with the shorter models 4547 mm long and the longer variants 4724 mm. Underlining the pre-war influence were the power plants themselves, called the 12 hp and 16 hp. Both featured twin camshafts featured high on the sides of the block and using hemispherical combustion chambers. This form of engine was developed by Riley in the mid 1930s.

The RMB as featured uses the 2443 cc four fitted with twin SU carburettors. At launch the engine produced 67 kW but by 1948 this had increased to 75 kW and the RMB had a reported top speed of around 154 km/h. Some 6900 RMBs were produced in six years, so it is not hard to see Riley was hardly making money. There were 10,504 RMAs manufactured and just 507 RMCs between 1948 and 1951. So our featured RMC is a fairly rare beast. It is also rare as the majority of RMCs were made for the North American market, to cater for demand in that country for stylish convertibles that had reasonable performance.

The more traditional RMD drop head coupe was also a sales flop selling just 502 between 1949 and 1951. It could well be these classic Riley's suffered from the same stigma that afflicted Jaguar between the 1980s and until recently – they were seen as an `old man's' car. The pre-war design, as classic as it was, and the olde-worlde interior, had minimal appeal to a youthful audience looking for more sparkling style – for instance the sporty looking MG T series from the same era. Also, the Riley did not come cheap. An RMB cost $2448. The RMB lasted until 1952, the year Lord Nuffield's Riley merged with Austin to form BMC.

The successors to the smaller RMA and RMB, the RME and the RMF both continued under BMC, the 1.5 litre ending production in 1955. It was followed by the Riley One-Point-Five. The RMF ceased production in 1953 and was succeeded by the Riley Pathfinder. But, these were both BMC cars lacking the Riley sporting heritage in design. Some claim the Pathfinder was the last `real' Riley, as it was the last car to use the Riley `Big Four', but for many purists the last genuine Riley was the RM series.