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 Europe, it is known as E-segment or F-segment. ...

automobile produced by Buick from 1959 to 1963. The Invicta was a continuation of the intermediate Buick Super that mated the standard size

Buick LeSabre The Buick LeSabre is a full-size car made by the division Buick of General Motors from 1959 until 2005. Prior to 1959, this position had been retained by the full-size Buick Special model (1936–58). The "LeSabre", which is French for "the sa ...

(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 The Buick Wildcat is a full-size car that was produced by Buick from the 1963 to 1970 model years. Taking its name from a series of 1950s Buick concept cars, the Wildcat replaced the Invicta within the "junior" B-body Buick sedan range. Serving ...

as a coupe or sedan, while the station wagon was replaced by the Buick Sport Wagon in 1965. The name was derived from

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

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 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). The Invicta continued the tradition of installing Ventiports on the front fenders from the Century. In a survey of 1959 Buick owners in the March, 1959 issue of

Popular Mechanics ''Popular Mechanics'' (sometimes 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 and transportation o ...

, 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. File:Buick Invicta (14999039936).jpg, 1959 Buick Invicta 2-door hardtop File:1961 Buick fins California license plate AINT PNK.jpg, Rear view of a 1960 Buick Invicta 2-door hardtop, showing its signature delta fins File:1960 Buick Invicta (11320662794).jpg, 1960 Buick Invicta 4-door hardtop

Second generation (1961–1963)

The Invicta received several updates for the 1961 model year. It was the last year the 364 cubic inch Buick 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, show vehicle or prototype) is a car made to showcase new styling and/or new technology. They are often exhibited at motor shows to gauge customer reaction to new and radical designs which may or ...

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. China is currently the largest auto market in the world. 2020 The 2020 Auto China show was due to open o ...

on April 19, 2008. The vehicle was designed in a collaboration between the

General Motors Technical Center The GM Technical Center is a General Motors facility in Warren, Michigan. The campus has been the center of the company's engineering effort since its inauguration in 1956. In 2000 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places; fourtee ...

Warren, Michigan Warren is a city in Macomb County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The 2020 Census places the city's population at 139,387, making Warren the largest city in Macomb County, the third largest city in Michigan, and Metro Detroit's largest suburb. T ...

and

Pan Asia Technical Automotive Center The Pan Asia Technical Automotive Center (or PATAC) is a joint venture between General Motors and SAIC Motor. It is a design and engineering center in Pudong, Shanghai, China, and is involved in engineering for Shanghai GM products, but also func ...

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. 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 mid-size sedan manufactured and marketed by Buick since 2004. The LaCrosse is now in its third generation, slotted above the Buick Regal as the brand's flagship vehicle. The first-generation LaCrosse replaced the Century ...

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