Lot details
Registration No: EK 8896
Chassis No: L171
Mot Expiry: Exempt

- Original Buff logbook from post-war period

- Comprehensive history file

- Said to be only one of two remaining

Seeking something constructive to do following WWI, Hugh Eric Orr-Ewing and Noel Campbell Macklin established, in quick succession, the Eric-Campbell and Silver Hawk marques. However, neither satisfied the restless Macklin who (financed by Earl Fitzwilliam and the Lyle brothers of sugar fame) then created the rakishly-British Invicta brand. No stranger to marketing, Macklin organised for his attractive sister-in-law Violette Cordery to head an endurance test at Monza, at which four international and 33 Italian records were broken. 1930 brought the 4.5 Litre S-Type model with which Donald Healey had great success in the Alpine and Monte Carlo rallies and Raymond Mays set records at Brooklands and Shelsley Walsh. However, largely as a result of the Wall Street crash, Invicta ceased trading in 1933 and Macklin went on to create the Railton marque with Reid Railton.

The Invicta now offered is a rare survivor of the 1.5 model introduced in 1932 in an attempt to widen the marque's appeal. Indeed, 'EK 8896' appears to be one of just two Saloon-bodied examples remaining, which is probably due in no small part to its first owner's lengthy retention - a story documented in the January 1949 issue of Motor Sport. Subsequent keepers include one the very first vintage car collectors and ERA owner Dudley Gahagan and, more recently, former Invicta club registrar Duncan McGregor, during whose tenure 'EK 8896' shared a garage with Mays's aforementioned Shelsey and Brooklands record breaking car. The sale car's files document most of it post-war history and include: some lovely shots of it at Oulton park in the '50s, various bills, owners reports regarding work undertaken, and an original buff log book from the post-war period. With 4.5 Litre examples now in the £1-2million bracket, 'EK 8896' is a relatively affordable route to acquiring a rare survivor of the Invicta marque.