Invicta Owners Group

Invicta is a British automobile manufacturer. The brand has been available intermittently through successive decades. Initially, the manufacturer was based in Cobham, Surrey, England from 1925 to 1933, then in Chelsea, London, England from 1933 to 1938 and finally in Virginia Water, Surrey, England from 1946 to 1950. More recently, the name has been revived for the new S1 sports car.Early history
The company was founded by Noel Macklin, who had previously tried car making with the Eric-Campbell and Silver Hawk companies, with Oliver Lyle of the sugar family providing finance, with assembly taking place in Macklin's garage at his home at Fairmile Cottage on the main London to Portsmouth road in Cobham, Surrey[1]. The cars were designed to combine flexibility, the ability to accelerate from virtual standstill in top gear, with sporting performance. With the assistance of William (Willie)Willie Watson, his mechanic from pre World war I racing days[2], a prototype was built on a Bayliss-Thomas frame with Coventry Simplex engine in the stables of Macklin's house on the western side of Cobham. The first production car, the 1925 2.5 litre used a Meadows straight six, overhead valve engine and four speed gearbox in a chassis with semi elliptical springs all round cost from £595. Three different chassis lengths were available, 9 feet 4 inches, 9 feet 10 inches and 10 feet to cater for the customer's choice of bodywork. As demand grew a lot of the construction work went to Lenaerts and Dolphens in Barnes, London but final assembly and test remained at Fairmile[2].

The engine grew to 3 litres in 1926 and when production of the model finished in 1929 about 200 had been made. A larger engine, still by Meadows, was used in the William Watson designed 1928 4.5 litre available in short SSC (118 inch) or long LC (126 inch) versions and also high Type A and low Type B chassis. The sporting low chassis was arranged by using underslung rear springs. About 500 were made up to 1934 which was quite a lot considering the high price. The long wheelbase NLC luxury model could cost up to £1800.


Invicta S-type from 1931In 1930 the S-type was launched at the London Motor Show[2]. Still using the 4.5 litre Meadows engine but in a lower chassis this model was capable of reaching 100 mph

In an attempt to widen the market appeal the 1.5 litre straight six overhead cam Blackburne engined 12/45 L-type was announced in 1932. It was a large car with its 118 inch wheelbase and proved too heavy for the available power needing a 6:1 rear axle ratio. It was available with a preselector gearbox as an option and could be bought complete with coachwork by Carbodies. The supercharged 12/90 of 1933 increased the available power from 45 to 90bhp but few were made and a proposed twin cam 12/100 never got beyond a prototype[3].

Sporting success came with Invictas driven by Violet Cordery, who was Noel Macklin's sister in law, when she gained the Dewar Trophy for reliability in 1929 and 1931, by Sammy Davis, who had a spectacular accident in an S-type at Brooklands in 1931 and by Donald Healey who in 1930 gained a class win and in 1931 a first in the Monte Carlo Rally.


[edit] End of production
Car production seems to have finished in 1935. Noel Macklin went on to found Railton who used the Cobham buildings to make their cars after Invicta moved to Chelsea in 1933. An attempted revival using Delage and Darracq components failed to get off the ground.


[edit] 1940s reformation

Invicta Black PrinceThe company was reformed in 1946 operating from Virginia Water to make the Black Prince[3]. Meadows engines were again used, this time a Twin overhead camshaft 3 litre six giving 120 bhp. The cars were extremely complex and very expensive with Brockhouse hydro-kinetic variable ratio "gearbox", full independent suspension using torsion bars, and built in electric jacks. About 16 were made. The new company lasted until 1950 when it was bought by Frazer Nash makers, AFN Ltd.


[edit] 2000s

Invicta S1In the early 2000s, the marque was resurrected yet again, producing the Invicta S1, at a factory in Chippenham, Wiltshire, England. The car is powered by 4.6 or 5.0 litre engines supplied by Ford's Special Vehicles Team (SVT) in America which can be tuned by Invicta to deliver up to 600bhp and has a claimed top speed of upwards of 200mph. The car boasts "the world's first one piece carbon fibre body to increase vehicle rigidity and minimise weight" and claims to have "the strongest chassis ever tested in the UK".[citation needed] The range prices start at £106,000 and finish at £160,000, or about $156,000 to $236,000 US dollars. (December 2008)

The car features AP racing 6-pot(front) and 4-pot(rear) main braking system with ventilated and cross drilled race spec discs, an independent handbrake system by Brembo, fully adjustable shock absorbers with double-wishbone race suspension, a BTR Hydratrak limited-slip race differential, 50/50 weight distribution and a tubular space-frame chassis and rollcage.