The Invicta S1 project has ground to a halt after its parent company collapsed under a $75,000 debt. The UK-built S1 was to be a $300,000 hand-built sports car using a 4.6-litre or 5.0-litre V8s from Ford SVT.
Customers could tune the engine up to 445kW. When announced in 2003, the S1 was claimed to have the world's first one-piece carbon-fibre body over its space-frame with integrated rollcage.
It also had AP Racing brakes with six-pot calipers, a Brembo independent handbrake system, double wishbone suspension that was fully adjustable and a BTR Hydratrak limited-slip differential.
The recent closure of the marque is the third time the Invicta name has collapsed in its 87-year history.
Invicta – ironically Latin for ‘invincible’ – was launched in 1925 with a focus on sporty performance, and closed 10 years later with founder Noel Macklin going on to start the Railton brand.
Invicta was restarted in 1946 and this time lasted five years before being bought by AFN (best known for the Frazer Nash brand).
The Invicta S1 was seeded in the marque’s third start out of the blocks about 10 years ago, but it looks like third time unlucky again.