Rare Rides: The 2009 Invicta S1 Coupe - Not a Cheap Watch
Though this Rare Ride looks like it might’ve come from a design commissioned by a Russian businessman, it’s in fact mostly British — and just a bit American. Let’s have a look at the Invicta S1 from 2009.
Invicta was one of those British brands with big dreams and a small cheque book. Conceived in Surrey in 1925, the company was founded by two men who started production in a home garage. The company aimed to make very capable cars which combined practicality with sporty driving. As Invicta’s cars were expensive, low-volume offerings, the company continually struggled to find funds.
By 1935 production was finished, and bankruptcy was forced by the government in 1938.
The brand received a short revival in 1946, when a reestablished company began making a new Invicta called the Black Prince. Production lasted just five years; the company made 16 Black Princes before its remains were sold to Frazer Nash.
Nearly 40 years later, in 1989, Invicta was registered as a private company once more, though in a slightly different way. This time it was brought to life by an enthusiast of the brand who meant to preserve its heritage. No cars were produced, as this instance was a special interest group.
At some point in a conflicted timeline, Michael Bristow purchased the Invicta brand. The company’s modern history started anew in 2004, when Mr. Bristow introduced an all new car: the S1. Built in Wiltshire, England, the new coupe drew power from Ford’s naturally aspirated 4.6-liter or supercharged SVT-tuned 5.0-liter V8. For a large sum, Invicta was willing to tune the engine to 600 horsepower for a claimed top speed of over 200 miles an hour. Base models started at roughly $156,000, finishing at over $230,000 for tuned supercharged models. This meant the S1 was more expensive than an Aston Martin DB7.
Made for performance, the S1 featured racing brakes, adjustable suspension, perfect 50/50 weight distribution, and a limited-slip differential. Everything was contained in a space frame chassis and roll cage.
Sales were slow for the expensive S1, and by 2012 the financial outlook was grim. The operation changed its name to Westpoint Car Company to avoid another black mark on the Invicta name, and was pushed through bankruptcy in 2012. Today’s red Rare Ride, located in Germany, is motivated by the base 4.6-liter engine. With 10,000 miles on the odometer, it asks $99,000.
[Images: seller]
Interested in lots of cars and their various historical contexts. Started writing articles for TTAC in late 2016, when my first posts were QOTDs. From there I started a few new series like Rare Rides, Buy/Drive/Burn, Abandoned History, and most recently Rare Rides Icons. Operating from a home base in Cincinnati, Ohio, a relative auto journalist dead zone. Many of my articles are prompted by something I'll see on social media that sparks my interest and causes me to research. Finding articles and information from the early days of the internet and beyond that covers the little details lost to time: trim packages, color and wheel choices, interior fabrics. Beyond those, I'm fascinated by automotive industry experiments, both failures and successes. Lately I've taken an interest in AI, and generating "what if" type images for car models long dead. Reincarnating a modern Toyota Paseo, Lincoln Mark IX, or Isuzu Trooper through a text prompt is fun. Fun to post them on Twitter too, and watch people overreact. To that end, the social media I use most is Twitter, @CoreyLewis86. I also contribute pieces for Forbes Wheels and Forbes Home.
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I thought Buick owned the Invicta name. Did GM lose the rights to its old model names in the bailout?
Front of a TVR, rear of an Esperante.