1930 Invicta 4½–Litre Series 'A' High Chassis Tourer

• One of the fastest sporting cars of its day
• Rare early example
• Present ownership since 2013
• Restored with no expense spared
• Eligible for VSCC and other prestigious events

"To drive, or be driven, in the new 4½-litre Invicta sports model is to experience something quite new in motoring. The way in which it will swoop up steep hills on top gear, passing on the way vehicles grinding away on their lower ratios is a revelation.
"The Invicta is a perfectly well-bred town car, even in its 100mph trim, and will run quite comfortably at about 7mph on top gear. It is, consequently, well suited to driving on congested roads or in dense city traffic." – The Motor.
In its all-too-short lifetime, Invicta carved out an enviable reputation for building fine sporting motor cars, the bigger Meadows-engined models in particular offering class-leading performance and impeccable build quality.
The origins of the company known as Invicta Cars go back to 1925 when Noel Macklin and Oliver Lyle, both of whom already had motor industry experience, got together to create a car combining American levels of flexibility and performance with European quality and roadholding. Like the contemporary Bentley, the Invicta was designed by men with backgrounds in competition motoring and both were produced to the highest standard. Price was only a secondary consideration, a factor that contributed to both firms' failure to survive the Depression years of the early 1930s. Like Bentley, Invicta struggled against rising costs and falling sales, the final car leaving the factory, appropriately enough, on Friday 13th October 1933, though a handful of cars was assembled at the company's service depot in Flood Street, Chelsea between 1934 and 1936. It is estimated that approximately 1,000-or-so Invictas of all types were made.
Apart from three Coventry Climax-engined prototypes built at Macklin's home in Cobham, Surrey, all Invictas were powered by the tireless six-cylinder engines made by Henry Meadows. Invicta cars quickly established a reputation for outstanding durability, bolstered by the award of the RAC's coveted Dewar Trophy in 1926 and 1929, largely for the marque's successes in long-distance reliability trials, including a 10,000-mile 'around-the-world' trip by sisters Violette and Evelyn Cordery, who also completed a '30,000 miles in 30,000 minutes' trial at Brooklands.
In 1928, Invicta introduced a new 30hp model powered by the ubiquitous Meadows 4½-litre six, which was first shown to the public at the Olympia Motor Show in October. The gearbox and rear axle were strengthened on the 4½–Litre and a pressed channel-section cross member fitted behind the gearbox, replacing the previous small-diameter tube. Finished to Rolls-Royce standards, the 4½-Litre chassis cost a staggering £985 at a time when the average UK house price was £590! It would go on to form the basis of the successor NLC, Type A, and famous S-Type 'low chassis' sports model.
Like most low-speed engines, the Meadows six produced ample torque in the lower and middle speed ranges. Indeed, the Invicta can be throttled down to 6-8mph in top gear and will then accelerate rapidly and without fuss, still in top gear, when the accelerator is depressed. The acceleration figures given by the contemporary motoring press speak for themselves on this subject. Indeed, in 1930 the Cordery sisters drove their '30,000 miles in 30,000 minutes' high chassis tourer from London to Edinburgh in top gear. This same car was then driven by Donald Healey in that year's Alpine Trial, winning its class.
The 4½-litre Invicta had few equals as a very fast but comfortable high-speed touring car, its greatest appeal being an ability to cover big mileages at high average speeds with no strain, either to driver or the machinery. The high chassis cars are, arguably, more comfortable and better suited to long-distance touring than the low chassis models.
An early Type A, the Invicta 4½-Litre offered here carries four-seat open tourer coachwork by the London-based coachbuilder Corsica, a company that allowed its customers considerable freedom in determining the design of their cars. Throughout the 1930s, Corsica specialised in producing sporting bodies for quality makes including Alfa Romeo, Mercedes-Benz, Rolls-Royce, Lea Francis, Frazer Nash and, of course, Invicta.
The immediately preceding owner purchased this car from Bonhams' dispersal sale of The West Collection in Devon in 1998. It had previously been bought for The West Collection from a Peterborough enthusiast and saw little use during its time in Devon. Unfortunately, the car's history was misplaced while in The West Collection,
The aforementioned former owner embarked on an extensive seven-year restoration programme, stripping the coachwork to bare metal and repainting the car in black. All chromework was re-plated and the interior re-trimmed in red hide, while a new hood, hood envelope and tonneau cover in double duck were fitted, together with new carpets. The radiator was re-cored and plated by Oldham Radiators; the engine re-bored and new pistons fitted; the con-rods re-metalled; and the cylinder head rebuilt. A new clutch and clutch stop linings were fitted and the gearbox overhauled with a new third gear by respected Irish engineer, the late Clive Mew. The rear axle was checked and fitted with modern axle shaft seals; all brakes relined; new king pins and bushes fitted; the electrics rewired; and a new speedometer cable fitted. New tyres and tubes completed the picture.
Following the restoration's completion, the Invicta had covered approximately 3,500 miles with distinction, participating in two of the prestigious Irish Veteran and Vintage Car Club's Gordon Bennett Rallies in Ireland where it then resided, before being offered for sale at Bonhams' auction at the Goodwood Revival meeting in September 2013 (Lot 234) where it was purchased by the current vendor, a member of the Invicta Owners' Club.
Works carried out since 2014 have included rebuilding the engine; rewiring the electrics; and overhauling the gearbox, clutch, prop shaft, differential, rear axle, suspension, shock absorbers, magneto, dynamo, distributor and steering, while the lubrication system has been updated with a full-flow oil filter. Some £30,000 has been spent over the last nine years. An extensive photographic record (on USB stick) and bills for the rebuild are on file.
The vendor advises us that the car has excellent leather upholstery, good carpets, good tyres, good hood, serviceable tonneau, very good bodywork, and a new battery and ignition coil. The car is used often and is said to be extremely good to drive: fast, reliable, handling well, and very handsome. 'FB 8906' was raced at the Spa-Francorchamps Classic weekend in 2017 and also at Vintage Prescott, and has attended numerous other Classic and Vintage events (photographs on file). This car would have been an excellent entry for the 72nd Pebble Beach event at Monterey on 20th August 2023; however, the planned special class for Invictas has been postponed until 2025. Other events attended include the following:

March 2016 Goodwood Tour
May 2017 VSCC Suffolk Tour
May 2018 VSCC Suffolk Rally
2017, 2018, 2019 Oily Rag Club Rallies
May 2019 VSCC Suffolk Tour
June 2019 Invicta Club Salisbury Rally
July 2019 Heveningham Hall
September 2022 Glemham Hall
2016, 2018, 2022 Ufford

Accompanying documentation includes a VSCC 'Buff Form' (issued August 2014) and a V5C Registration Certificate, and the car also comes with a workshop manual, starting handle, hood bag, tools (if required) and a few minor spares. A wonderful opportunity to own a rare early example of this important Vintage-era British sporting car.