08/04/2025
This car, an Invicta Low Chassis built in 1930, is what Pre-War Sports Cars is all about. It's not just a racing car, but a road-registered tourer as well.
"The car is heavily used on the road," says owner Alan Brown. "It still does the school run from time-to-time, and it gets driven to, and from, the track. We drove it out to Spa in September, competed and drove it back."
Underneath the beautiful clamshell bonnet is a six-cylinder, four-and-a-half litre Meadows engine, with 12 spark plugs making for a dual ignition system – it runs both a magneto and a distributor. That makes for durability, and reliability, which is quite useful for those school runs. The car's main feature though, is what it's named after: its low chassis.
"That's the defining characteristic, and that's why the car looks lower than all its contemporaries. The chassis rails run under the rear axle rather than over the top, which helps to improve handling and performance."
The car has been with Alan for almost 20 years and, like many classic cars and their owners, has familial influence for him.
"My father owned an Invicta when I was born, but unfortunately he sold it.I wasn't able to buy my father's car, but this is the sister car."
It's a storied classic, having been owned and raced in period by Raymond Mays. Mays was a founder of both ERA and BRM, and was one of British motor racing's foremost figures before, and after, the war.
"It's quite famous, specifically because it was raced by Raymond Mays. Mays owned two white Invictas. This is the first one, and my father owned the second one, so that's the connection."
The two period photos show Mays at the wheel, both in 1931: numbered 54 he's setting the sports car record at Shelsley Walsh; and numbered 1, he's stripped the bodywork to race at Brooklands.
When asked what it's like to drive, Alan is almost coy.
"It's what I'm used to, I guess. You've obviously got to set up the car and get it running well, and because I used it a lot it gets well looked after and it's well fettled. It's a nice car to drive, I like it a lot."
And the wooden box under the bonnet? It's a tool box.
Historic Motor Racing Since 1984
