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Riley & Scott Cars Inc. was an Americanracing constructor and racing team that primarily provided chassis for various forms of motorsport, but worked primarily insports car racing. It was founded in 1990 by Bob Riley and Mark Scott.[1]
Riley & Scott's first program was the development of a chassis for theTrans-Am Series, providing a customer car for numerous competitors. This chassis had much success in the series.
Soon, the company moved to the development of a World Sports Car for theIMSA GT Championship, becoming known as theMk III. Debuting in 1995, the Mk III went on to win five races in just its debut season. The car eventually earned victories in races such as the24 Hours of Daytona, and even received customers in Europe for theSports Racing World Cup as a viable opponent to theFerrari 333 SP.
At the turn of the 21st century, Riley & Scott expanded their sports car program to include development of theChevrolet Corvette C5-R forGeneral Motors, then theCadillac Northstar LMP program as well, using architecture based on their Mk III. The original Mk III itself was also refurbished in 2001, allowing it to continue competition up to 2005.
Riley & Scott was among the new chassis builders selected for the newIndy Racing League in 1997. The MkV IndyCar was competitive out of the box but had few customers because the car was not ready until the 1998 season, by which time most teams had already purchased the competingDallara or G-Force chassis. A Riley & Scott finished with a 12th-place finish at the1999 Indianapolis 500. It was eventually replaced by the MkVIII in 2000. Eventual series championBuddy Lazier took Riley & Scott's sole victory atPhoenix in 2000 before the company withdrew. The Mk VIII was competitive on short ovals but woefully off the pace at Indianapolis and other super-speedways.
Reynard Motorsport acquired Riley & Scott in 1999 as part of Reynard's expansion. However, Reynard was not able to survive the expansion as the company went bankrupt in 2001. When Reynard was dissolved, Riley & Scott was dissolved along with it. Co-founder Bob Riley would found his own company,Riley Technologies, to continue construction of various projects in the same year.
| Year | Car | Racing series | Note | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Riley & Scott Mk I | Trans-Am Series | Chevrolet body | |
| ??? | Riley & Scott Mk II | road car | Hunter, carbon fiber bodywork, roadster, big-block Chevrolet | |
| 1995 | Riley & Scott Mk III |  | World Sportscar Championship | |
| 1997 | Riley & Scott Mk V | IndyCar Series | ||
| 1999 | Cadillac Northstar LMP |  | Le Mans prototype | |
| 2000 | Riley & Scott Mk VII | IndyCar Series | ||
| 2001 | Riley & Scott Mk VIII | Trans-Am Series | Qvale Mangusta body | |
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