1932 Invicta Type S Tourer

Invicta Cars produced about 1,000 models overall. Former racing drivers Captain Noel Macklin and Oliver Lyle established the Invicta Car Company in 1924 to build the finest British sports cars. It was based in a small factory in Cobham near the Brooklands circuit where cars were often raced. Powered by a Coventry Climax 4-cylinder engine, the first Invicta was finished in 1925. Later cars had a 2.5-liter straight-six Meadows engine that produced a lot of torque, and over time the engine grew in size, first to 3 litres and ultimately to 4.5 litres. Invictas were well-loved and very successful on the track and in road rallies. The company's most famous model, the S-type with its underslung chassis designed by Reid Railton, was launched at the 1930 Olympia Car Show. This configuration lowered the car's center of gravity, greatly improving its performance. Some S-Types were sold as rolling chassis but Invicta offered standard Tourer coachwork by Carbodies of Coventry.

The Invicta Company built fast touring cars from 1925 through 1950. Their S-Type model won the Monte Carlo Rally in 1931 with Donald Healey driving. It is powered by a 4.5-liter straight-six Meadows engine capable of 140 horsepower. Due to its underslung frame, which not only lowered the center of gravity but made the car more aerodynamic, it was capable of speeds of well over 100 mph.

This 4.5-liter S-Type was christened 'Somali' by its first owner, racing driver Charles Needham, who competed in various events including the 1932 Alpine Trial where he won the Glacier Cup. The coachwork on this car is built by Carbodies of Coventry, one of England's oldest and longest-operating custom coachbuilders.