INVICTA. The first Invicta 'factory', indeed, was the three-car garage of Macklin's own

Noel Macklin got together with Oliver Lyle (of the sugar-making family) in 1924 to produce cars of a type new to the British market —cars that would combine British standards of quality and roadholding with American standards of performance and engine flexibility.

To do this, as their company was to be very small, they had to be skilful assemblers of proprietary parts and 'bought-out' components. The first Invicta 'factory', indeed, was the three-car garage of Macklin's own home at Cobham, Surrey, south-west of London.

The first three cars, with 21-litre six-cylinder Coventry-Climax engines did not match Mack-lin's high standards, so for future production he turned to Henry Meadows of Wolverhampton, who were already producing engines for various uses.

From 1925, all Invictas. with the exception of the 11-litre model announced in 1932, used Meadows 'sixes'. Macklin's designer was W. G. Watson, later renowned for his post-war twin-camshaft Invicta Black Prince, and in the eight years of what are now thought of as 'vintage' Invictas he was loyal to one basic chassis layout.

The 21-litre Meadows model was succeeded a year later by the enlarged-bore 3-litre, but by 1928 the big six-cylinder unit had been further stretched to give a powerful and reliable 41-litres. Mechanically the Invictas' performance was way ahead of their brakes, and indeed of their styling.

Before the end of the decade there was nothing very striking about the cars' lines, even though the radiator was simple and noble, and the bonnet rivets aped those of Rolls-Royce to a very obvious degree. The 41-litre NLC Invicta, often with a body as expensive and individually produced as those for Rolls-Royce. was the company's most expensive car of all; its chassis price of £1,050 was only £50 under that of the contemporary 20/25 Rolls.

Unlike the Rolls, however, the Invicta had an engine not noted for smoothness or silence, even if it was powerful. An 85mph maximum speed was normal for this car — far better than the average.

By 1930, the 41-litre chassis was being sup-plied in two forms — the "high' A-Type, and an entirely different lowered S-Type. The latter, usually supplied with lightweight sporting coach-work, formed the basis of really sensationally effective competition cars.

Though colloquially known as the '100mph" Invicta, the production car was really capable of a 90-plus maximum. Nevertheless, Invicta, who only sold 77 of these scarce sports cars, did nothing to discourage the unofficial title, as it could only be good for sales. The chassis was reputedly inspired by that of the successful Delage Grand Prix cars, was very rigid, and was passed underneath the back axle.

This rather limited wheel movement, and may have contributed to the rather knife-edge road-holding for which the 'flat iron" Invicta was later renowned. One lurid accident involving 'Sammy' Davis of The Autocar, which happened in front of thousands of spectators at Brooklands, did nothing to help.

During the production run, really a misnomer as all cars were hand-built at Cobham, engine power was increased and the last cars probably boasted 140bhp at 3,600rpm. The maximum of this bluff-fronted machine would undoubtedly have been over 100mph by then.

It is worth recalling that Meadows also sold this engine to Lagonda for their 41-litre machines, and that W. 0. Bentley joined Lagonda in 1935, refined the installation and ensured the engine's life right up to 1939.

No attempt was ever made by Invicta to prove their products on the race track, but they were keen on competition in long-distance trials of various types. In 1930 several top events in Europe were tackled with great success, and in 1931 Donald Healey astonished the motoring world by winning the Monte Carlo Rally outright.

A year later the same car and driver took second overall, but as before were fastest of all on the tests where performance was at a premium. The world depression had the same effect on Invicta as on other luxury-car makers. and an entirely different 11-litre Blackburne-engined car was briefly sold. The company stopped making cars in 1933 and Macklin turned to Railtons in their place.

For a Cadogan-bodied 41-litre Invicta of 1929, with normal 'high' frame and four-seater layout, the chassis cost £1,050, body another £300.

Perhaps the most famous of all Invictas, was the 'flat iron' 41-litre of 1931. Donald Healey won the Monte Carlo Rally in one, and up to 100mph was possible. Only 77 of these cars were built, and they were as fierce as any Bentley or Bugatti, though without the glamour. The rivetted bonnet was a trademark, carried on to the Railton.

There was the simple but very charming 3-litre Invicta of 1927. All the six-cylinder Invictas built from 1925 used Meadows engines, which were powerful, reliable, and rugged. The Invicta was never built in large quantities, being the brainchild of Noel Macklin, and was never intended to be other than a bespoke sporting and touring car.

From 1926 to 1933 there were 21-litre, 3-litre and 41-litre cars, all using the same basic parts. Railtons succeeded Invictas after 1933.

Invicta 11-litre, 21-litre, 3-litre and 41-litre, built from 1925 to 1933 (data for 41-litre S) Built by: Invicta Cars, Britain. Engine: Meadows-manufactured. Six-cylinder, in line, in cast-iron block or detachable five-bearing light-alloy crankcase. Bore and stroke 88.5mm by 120.6mm, 4,467cc (3.46in x 4.75in, 272-5cu.in). Cast-iron cylinder head. Two over-head valves per cylinder, operated by pushrods and rockers from single side-mounted camshaft. Two SU constant-vacuum carburettors. Maxi-mum power in excess of 115bhp. Transmission:. Single-dry-plate clutch and Meadows four-speed manual gearbox (without synchromesh), both in unit with engine. Right-hand gearchange. Open propeller shaft. to hypoid-bevel "live' rear axle. Chassis: Separate steel chassis frame, with channel-section side members, tubular and channel-section cross-bracing members. Forged front axle beam.

Front and rear suspension by half-elliptic leaf springs. Hydraulic piston-type dampers, with Hartford friction dampers in over-riding control. Rod-operated drum brakes. Coachwork to choice. from nominated coach-builders, including Invicta's own two-seat light-alloy sports body on ash framing. Dimensions: Wheelbase 9ft 10in (300cm), tracks (front and rear) 4ft 8in (142cm). Overall length 13ft 6in (411cm). Unladen weight 2,8001b (1.270kg).