The guest of honour at the ARC rally was none other than Bernd Pischetsrieder, the chairman of BMW. After comparing Riley with the present day BMW in terms of advanced design and beauty, he announced that he had instructed Rover to produce a prototype Riley. He gave them 365 days to complete the job. He would not commit himself to actual production. He hoped that Victor Riley would give it his seal of approval. This speech received a loud ovation - after all the last time such an announcement was made at a Riley Club dinner must have been during the stewardship of Victor's father. Further details are beginning to appear, or be guessed at, in the UK press, who are beating a path to Victor's door in the hope of more snippets of information. Given the tone of Herr Pischetrieder's speech it does not seem likely that he is thinking about the bottom end of the market.
Herr Pischetrieder referred to the new Riley, and the fact that Rover were now well into their alloted 365 days, when he was presented with an honorary degree at Warwick a few weeks ago.
See the Electronic Telegraph, and search for Riley.
Automedia at http://www.automedia-online.com/e_spion.htm claim to know what the neew Riley will look like.