1931 Invicta S-Type 4½-Litre Low Chassis Fixed Head Coupe “Sea-Bear”
Among British sports cars of the early 1930s, few could match the visual drama and engineering innovation of the Invicta S-Type. Designed by Reid Railton, its distinctive underslung chassis gave the car an exceptionally low stance and superb handling.
The low-slung profile resulted from Railton’s ingenious chassis design, which positioned the rear axle above the frame rails rather than below them (a concept he would later refine in Donald Healey’s sports cars).
Power came from a 4½-litre Meadows inline six-cylinder engine producing around 100 horsepower, capable of propelling the lightweight car to nearly 100 mph.
Invicta S-Types achieved considerable competition success, with Donald Healey famously driving one to victory in the 1931 Monte Carlo Rally and Raymond Mays setting records at Brooklands and Shelsley Walsh.
Of the 77 S-Type chassis built between 1930 and 1933, approximately 56 are known to survive today.
The Fixed Head Coupe body style was the rarest configuration, with only two examples ever produced and just one known to survive today (making it one of the most significant pre-war British sports cars in existence).
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