Invicta
Invicta (automobile manufacturer) started in 1925, in Cobham, Surrey. The manufacturer of the Invicta car had a number of bases throughout the decades including Chelsea in London before moving back to to Virginia Water in Surrey.
The first Invicta car
The first car was interestingly funded by the Lyle family of the sugar industry. The Invicta car was designed and built in Noel Macklin's garage. This was not Macklin's first attempt at car design, he had previously tried car manufacture with two other companies, one of which was his own Silver Hawk Motor Company Limited.
The design of the Invicta car was designed to give sporting performance. Some of the Invicta car's impressive features were the fact it could accelerate from a standstill in top gear. This gave the Invicta car the desired flexibility that Macklin envisaged.
The car was first produced in 1925 for sale and offered two different chassis lengths to cater for individual requirements. The 1925 Invicta car could be bought for £595. The Invicta car had a 2.5 litre engine manufactured by Meadows with a straight six, overhead valve engine. The engine size grew in 1926 when the Invicta car was manufactured with a 3 litre engine, and again in late 1928 with a 4.5 litre engine.
Development of the Invicta car brand
The brand continued to slowly develop up until 1930 when the S-type was launched at the London Motor Show. The Invicta S-type car was designed with a low chassis over the rear axle combined with the Meadows 4.5 litre engine. There were 75 Invicta S-type cars manufactured.
In 1932 Invicta cars tried to increase their market appeal by manufacturing a car with a smaller engine. They launched the L-type which possessed a 1.5 litre engine. Unfortunately the car never really developed past a prototype as the L-type Invicta car proved too heavy, with its 3 metre body.
The production of the car under Noel Macklin ceased in 1935 when the production of the car moved to Chelsea. Several revivals were attempted but unfortunately, they failed.
The revival of the Invicta cars
The brand was revived in 1946 when a company named Invicta Cars of Virginia Water began making a model called the Black Prince. The Black Prince used the same manufacturing process as previous cars, utilising the Meadows engine. The Black Prince cars were made with aluminium bodies, however this proved very expensive. There were 16 Black Prince cars manufactured until the company's sale to a french company in 1950.
The brand was again revived in 1989 when an Invicta cars enthusiast started up the company again with the focus on recording and preserving the company name . The company still focuses on preservation and restoration of Invicta cars that are on the road today.
The Invicta car saw another revival in the S-1, costing from £106,000 to £160,000 the car was pitched as "the world's first one piece carbon fibre body to maximise rigidity and minimise weight." Sadly the company folded in April 2012 due to an unpaid bill of £40,000.