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The Buick Invicta is a
full-size Full-size car—also known as large car—is a vehicle size class which originated in the United States and is used for cars larger than mid-size cars. It is the largest size class for cars. In the United Kingdom, this class is referred to as ...
automobile produced by
Buick Buick () is a division (business), division of the Automotive industry in the United States, American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM). Started by automotive pioneer David Dunbar Buick in 1899, it was among the first American automobil ...
from 1959 to 1963. The Invicta was a continuation of the mid-range Buick Century that mated the standard size Buick LeSabre (pre-1959, Buick Special) body with Buick's larger 401 cubic inch Fireball V8 engine. The Invicta continued to be the intermediate hardtop coupe, hardtop sedan, convertible and station wagon, labeled as the Buick Invicta Estate, until it was replaced by the Buick Wildcat as a coupe or sedan, while the station wagon was replaced by the
Buick Sport Wagon The Buick Sport Wagon was a Mid-size car, mid-size station wagon built by Buick and was shared with the Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser, Pontiac Tempest#Second generation (1964–1967), Pontiac Tempest Safari and Chevrolet Chevelle, Chevrolet Chevelle G ...
in 1965. The name was derived from
Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
and signified 'unconquerable, invincible, unbeatable, unvanquished' according to Buick Motor Division sales training materials. __TOC__


First generation (1959–1960)

The Invicta series was introduced as a full line of body styles for model year 1959. Sales never approached that of either the entry-level LeSabre or top level
Electra Electra, also spelt Elektra (; ; ), is one of the most popular Greek mythology, mythological characters in tragedies.Evans (1970), p. 79 She is the main character in two Greek tragedies, ''Electra (Sophocles play), Electra'' by Sophocles and ''Ele ...
models, but were consistent with the traditional sales penetration of Buick's sporty mid-priced models (the 1954 to 1958 Century and 1963 to 1970 Wildcat). In a survey of 1959 Buick owners in the March, 1959 issue of
Popular Mechanics ''Popular Mechanics'' (often abbreviated as ''PM'' or ''PopMech'') is a magazine of popular science and technology, featuring automotive, home, outdoor, electronics, science, do it yourself, and technology topics. Military topics, aviation an ...
, 47.1% of owners like the ride comfort, though many (25.2%) said the drive shaft tunnel was too big. Starting in 1960, an Invicta Custom trim package was offered, featuring bucket seats and a 'consolette' in the hardtop coupe, convertible, and wagon and a leather bench seat with a center armrest on some 4 door hardtops. Sales were nominal. According to Robin Moore's 1969 book '' The French Connection'', "the 1960 Buick Invicta had a peculiarity in body construction conducive to the installations of...extraordinary, virtually detection-proof traps concealed within the fenders and undercarriage" that made it a popular model for international heroin smugglers. Buick Invicta (14999039936).jpg, 1959 Buick Invicta 2-door hardtop 1961 Buick fins California license plate AINT PNK.jpg, Rear view of a 1960 Buick Invicta 2-door hardtop, showing its signature delta fins 1960 Buick Invicta (11320662794).jpg, 1960 Buick Invicta 4-door hardtop 1960 Buick Invicta Custom Estate Wagon, rear right 1.jpg, 1960 Buick Invicta Custom Estate Wagon, a limited edition with a "Western" theme


Second generation (1961–1963)

The Invicta received several updates for the 1961 model year. It was the last year the 364 cubic inch
Buick Buick () is a division (business), division of the Automotive industry in the United States, American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM). Started by automotive pioneer David Dunbar Buick in 1899, it was among the first American automobil ...
V8 engine was offered before the engine was retired. The station wagon did not reappear until the 1962 model year. 1962 saw the debut of the
Wildcat The wildcat is a species complex comprising two small wild cat species: the European wildcat (''Felis silvestris'') and the African wildcat (''F. lybica''). The European wildcat inhabits forests in Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus, while th ...
two-door hardtop within the Invicta series. The Wildcat featured most of the interior trim of the Invicta Custom, which included standard bucket seats and upgraded door panels. Instead of the Invicta Custom's short console, however, the Wildcat had a long console with a tachometer and a shift lever. Other Wildcat features included special badging and exterior trim, along with a vinyl top and Electra 225-like taillights, rather than those of the LeSabre/Invicta. These features placed the Wildcat well in step with the shift towards sports-oriented models. For 1963, the Wildcat would replace the Invicta four-door hardtop, two-door coupe, and convertible. The Invicta series had a 6-passenger station wagon as its sole model. Only 3,495 Invicta station wagons were built for 1963, after which the name disappeared. File:1961 Buick Invicta Convertible (2905574457).jpg, 1961 Buick invicta convertible File:BuickInvicta-rear.jpg, 1961 Buick Invicta convertible, rear view File:62 Buick Invicta.JPG, 1962 Buick Invicta 2-door hardtop File:Buick Invicta Wagon (8458211853).jpg, 1963 Buick Invicta Estate station wagon


Buick Invicta concept (2008)

The Invicta nameplate was re-trademarked by Buick in 2004, a
concept car A concept car (also known as a concept vehicle or show vehicle) is a car made to showcase new styling or new technology. Concept cars are often exhibited at motor shows to gauge customer reaction to new and radical designs which may or may not ...
bearing that name was unveiled at the
Beijing Auto Show Beijing International Automotive Exhibition (), Beijing Motor Show () or Auto China is an auto show held biennially in Beijing, China since 1990. 2024 The 2024 Auto China show dates are scheduled for 25 April - 4 May 2024 at the New China Interna ...
on April 19, 2008. The vehicle was designed in a collaboration between the
General Motors Technical Center The GM Technical Center was inaugurated in 1956 as General Motors's primary design and engineering center, located in Warren, Michigan. In 2000 the center was listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and fourteen years later it was d ...
in
Warren, Michigan Warren is a city in Macomb County, Michigan, Macomb County in the U.S. state of Michigan. An inner-ring Metro Detroit, suburb of Detroit, Warren borders Detroit to the north, roughly north of downtown Detroit. The population was 139,387 at the ...
and Pan Asia Technical Automotive Center in
Shanghai, China Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...
. The designers responsible for the exterior design were Justin Thompson and Richard Duff. The concept was equipped with a 2.0-liter direct injection turbo engine rated at and mated with a 6-speed automatic transmission, MacPherson strut front and independent rear suspensions, four-wheel anti-lock disc brakes, 20 x 8.5 inch polished aluminum wheels with P245/40R20 tires. Featured on the car are several traditional Buick design cues: the Sweepspear, VentiPorts, a tri-color Buick trishield, and the waterfall grille. The vehicle's designs were later used on the second generation
Buick LaCrosse The Buick LaCrosse is a four-door, front-wheel-drive sedan manufactured by Buick since model year 2005, and marketed variously across four generations for the North American and Chinese markets. The first-generation LaCrosse replaced the Centu ...
.


References

{{Buick postwar timeline Invicta Rear-wheel-drive vehicles Full-size vehicles Convertibles Coupés Sedans Station wagons 1960s cars Motor vehicles manufactured in the United States Cars introduced in 1959