Invicta gets first car up and running

Britain's Invicta Car Company has just handed over its first production sports car, 11 months after the prototype Invicta S1 was the star attraction at the British motor show.

"We are truly delighted to have delivered our very first customer car," said Invicta chairman Michael Bristow.

"This is the first full production specification S1 model we have completed.

"We built and tested two prototypes, and our entire team has worked tremendously hard to reach this landmark moment.

"We have firm orders for more than a dozen cars and road-test requests from several hundred potential customers.

"We look forward to delivering a new S1 every month in the years ahead."

The limited-edition Invicta S1 is put together at the company's plant in Chippenham, Wiltshire.

It is hand-built, costs £74,000 ($205,000), has a top speed of 275km/h (170mph) and was designed to echo the performance of pre-World War II Invicta cars.

The front-engined, rear-wheel-drive coupe comes with race-bred suspension, steering and brakes.

It is powered by a 4.6-litre, 32-valve Ford Mustang V8 engine producing 238kW (320bhp).

A five-speed manual gearbox and limited-slip differential gets the power down.

The interior is trimmed in leather, the boot holds two sets of golf clubs and the 100-litre petrol tank gives the S1 a range of 810km, or 500 miles.

The interior is created for Invicta by Automotive Trim Developments Limited, a Coventry-based company specialising in the design and development of seats and interior trim for prestigious brands such as Aston Martin, Bentley and Jaguar.

"Response to the S1 has been overwhelmingly positive," said Bristow.