Introduced in 1959 to replace the hot-stepping Century, the Buick Invicta combined the bigger V-8 from the Electra with a better-trimmed version of the smaller LeSabre chassis. Although “Invicta” means “unconquered” in Latin, this Buick model survived for only five years, and is now one of Buick’s most obscure nameplates.
Having established that the Invicta was essentially the old Buick Century with a new name, you might be wondering why Buick would change the name at all. After all, the Century had a fairly illustrious history of racy performance going back to before WW2. However, Buick had stumbled badly in 1957 and 1958, with a recession coinciding with an embarrassing array of quality control problems and unpopular styling. To escape negative word of mouth, Buick decided to rename all its existing models, hoping to give the impression of a fresh start.
Several of the new names — LeSabre and Electra — went on to long and successful tenures, and many of the older ones (including Century) reappeared later in new guises, but the Invicta was kind of lost in the shuffle. It did okay in 1959, with 52,851 sales (18.5 percent of Buick production), but it never seemed to catch on after that.
The concept was straightforward: Like most GM brands, Buick had two sets of full-size cars, the bread-and-butter B-body model (at this point called LeSabre) and the bigger, fancier C-body (at this point called Electra). Like the old Century, the Invicta used the B-body, but had plusher trim than the LeSabre with the engine from the C-body cars.
For the first two years, the Invicta had offered pillared sedan and station wagon models, but for 1961, Buick unexpectedly dropped both, leaving two- and four-door hardtops and a convertible. (They soon thought better of this, and the wagon returned for 1962.) A 1961 four-door hardtop like this one started at $3,515, which was $287 more than a LeSabre in the same body style, but $417 cheaper than an Electra and $835 less than the top-of-the-line Electra 225.
Under the hood, the four-barrel 401 cid Wildcat 445 engine replaced the 364 cid two-barrel V-8 used in the LeSabre. The Invicta weighed only about 30 lb more than the LeSabre, but had an additional 75 gross horsepower, along with a shorter (higher numerical) 3.23 axle ratio for better performance. Turbine Drive torque converter automatic was standard on all full-size Buick models at this time; no manual gearbox was available.
Motor Life, testing a 1961 Invicta two-door hardtop, got 0 to 60 mph in an okay 11.3 seconds, but I assume that was starting with the transmission in D. Starting with the Turbine Drive transmission in L and shifting manually to D at around 50 mph provided much better pickup; Car Life recorded a much brisker 8.5 second time with an air conditioned 1962 Invicta convertible with this same powertrain, although that may have been with the available dual exhaust system, a $31.18 option this hardtop lacks.
Buick had made some very big chassis changes for 1961. The cruciform frame continued, but Buick’s traditional torque tube rear suspension was replaced with an open driveshaft and a live rear axle located by three control arms and a Panhard rod. The multi-piece “Hide-Away” driveshaft incorporated an additional double cardan CV joint, which was more expensive, but allowed Buick to significantly lower the height of the driveshaft tunnel. The new suspension also provided much better handling than previous Buicks.
Motor Life was being hyperbolic when they declared that the Invicta “performed and handled like a sports car,” but for a full-size car of this era, the big Buick handled reasonably well. The enthusiast magazines found it under-damped, but Consumer Reports rated the ride of these full-size Buicks the best in their class and called their finned 12-inch drum brakes “exceptionally good.”
The Invicta wasn’t any roomier than a LeSabre, but it was noticeably fancier inside, although the standard trim lacked the carpeted lower door panels of the pricier Electra.
Inside, the Invicta was potentially more comfortable than a LeSabre, since its fancier cloth-and-vinyl upholstery covered Foamtex seat cushions front and rear, a standard Invicta feature that cost LeSabre buyers $22.58 extra.
As on the LeSabre, you paid extra for a heater ($98.90) — this wasn’t standardized until 1962 — as well as power steering ($107.50), which was essential, and power brakes ($43.00), which were desirable given this car’s weight. This Invicta also has factory air conditioning ($430). The pod-mounted clock was an Invicta standard feature.
If you really wanted to live large, Buick offered a $295.63 Custom trim package for the Invicta four-door hardtop that included genuine leather upholstery, fold-down armrests front and rear, and different door trim with lower carpeting. (This car doesn’t have that option.) Bucket seats were available on the Invicta two-door hardtop, but not on the four-door.
Although the Invicta lacked the longer wheelbase and extra legroom of the C-body Electra, it was plenty roomy by family car standards. Its build quality was generally excellent, and it had a better-than-average repair record — Buick really had cleaned up its act since the debacle of 1957.
Still, buyers did not seem to be very enthralled. 1961 was actually the second-weakest year for the Invicta, with total production of only 28,733, nearly two-thirds of those (18,398 cars) the four-door hardtop. Some of the sales weakness was probably due to the loss of the four-door sedan and wagons, but 1961 was a recessionary year, and this was a fairly expensive car. MSRP in this form was probably around $4,400 (a relative worth of more than $61,000 in 2025 dollars).
During the 1962 model year, Buick introduced the Wildcat, which replaced the Invicta two-door hardtop around April 1962. The Wildcat was basically the same thing, but it standardized the bucket seats that had been optional on the Invicta hardtop, adding a full-length console with a tachometer and standard dual exhausts. By 1963, the Wildcat had also devoured the Invicta convertible and four-door hardtop, leaving the Invicta wagon for one final slow-selling season. Buick has never revived the Invicta nameplate since then.
The Wildcat ultimately didn’t do much better than the Invicta, expiring after 1970. The problem was that by the ’60s, Buick really didn’t need a middle-tier full-size model anymore. It wasn’t that there was anything wrong with the Invicta or the Wildcat, it was that anything Buick needed them to be could be more easily accomplished by adding options for the LeSabre. Once Buick introduced the plusher LeSabre Custom series in 1965, the Wildcat — or any model occupying that segment — was on borrowed time.
Despite the implied defiance of the name, cars called “Invicta” have proven all too vanquishable in the marketplace. Some readers may recall that there was a British brand called Invicta, which went bankrupt in 1935, was revived in 1946, and went bankrupt again in early 1950. The name was revived again in 2002 for the Invicta S1, a pricey carbon-composite GT with a Mustang SVT engine, but the new Invicta Car Company closed in 2012. The name has been much more successful in the wristwatch market — the Invicta Watch Group has now been in business for almost 190 years, longer by far than any automotive Invicta.
Related Reading
Full-Size Buicks Of The 1960s: How Buick Reinvented Its Lineup Between 1959 And 1970 (by me)
1960 Buick Invicta Hardtop – Never Heard Of It, But I Want One (by Roger Carr)
Curbside Classic: 1961 Buick LeSabre Two-Door Hardtop – Harley Earl’s Bubbletop Has Its Last Flight (by Paul N)
Car Show Classic: 1961 Buick Electra – How Would You Like Your Four Door Hardtop, Sir? With Four Windows Or With Six? (by J P Cavanaugh)
Cohort Pic(k) of the Day: 1961 Buick Electra 225 Riviera Sedan – A Bit Less Longer, Lower, Wider (by Paul N)
Vintage Car Life Road Test: 1962 Buick Wildcat Sport Coupe – A B-Body Buick Joins The Bucket Brigade (by me)
CC Tech: Inside Buick’s Turbine Drive (Twin Turbine) Automatic Transmission (by me)
I forgot about this one. I wonder whether there was a copyright issue with the British company too (which back then was owned by AFN Ltd, a car maker in its own right and the UK’s Porsche main dealer until Porsche set up their own UK operation)?
And since we mentioned the UK, to me this is the nearest a US maker came to offering a Jaguar Mark X equivalent. Similar size and weight, with the Buick faster in a straight line (assuming the Jag was equipped with the Borg-Warner auto box) and the Jag winning in the corners.
If I were living in the US back then and looking for a fast sporty-ish sedan I’d have gone for the Buick, fitted Koni dampers and call it done (well I might have ticked the leather upholstery option too to ensure equal snob appeal with the Jag)…
It would be trademark, not copyright, but I doubt it. The Invicta Car Co. was no longer operating after about February 1950, and they had no U.S. presence, so AFN wouldn’t have had much grounds to challenge Buick’s use of the name. (It would have been more likely for the Invicta watch company to make a fuss, although no one was going to mistake a car and a watch.)
The Buick was somewhat bigger than a Mark X Jag. The Jaguar was close to a foot shorter and almost 4 inches narrower, if you can believe that, and lighter by about 150 lb. The comparison is not inapt, though.
For many years there was a Cadillac vacuum cleaner, but while it may have been hitching a ride on the name of the prestigious car, it was allowed to register the name as a trademark.
https://trademarks.justia.com/716/85/cadillac-71685960.html
The Invicta may be my favorite Buick name of that era, but maybe that was because they were seen so rarely.
Maybe part of the Invicta’s problem (from a sales perspective) was that it basically just looked like a fancy LeSabre.
Perhaps it would have sold better if Buick had added an extra “ventiport”/porthole on the Invicta’s front fenders to identify it’s powertrain lineage to the Electra.
As an aside, I always get a chuckle out of seeing stick-on ventiports added to a wide variety of vehicles (including cars like Kia and/or Hyundai).
Buick had been inconsistent about the number of ventiports used on its middle price lines. They had started the Century with three in 1954, then used four from 1955-1957. The Super also followed this pattern. From 1961 on only Electras had four…I think.
FWIW, the car name inspired a very popular ’60’s local and regional Rochester NY band with a couple of hits called “The Invictas”
Three different fonts used for “Invicta” in different locations across the car is a relatively small detail that begs the question why? A distraction for me in a big way to an otherwise pleasant looking and pleasing design.
The ’61 styling was particularly gorpy that year with its eyeshade taillights and pointy fenders and bullets, but they really cleaned it up nicely by ’62. The new driveshaft design and Panhard rear axle was a significant improvement, and combined with the big nailhead V8 the mechanics were excellent that year, and even though Olds looked better to my eye and had long since had the better frame design, the Jetaway was flawed. For an Olds guy it’d be tough choosing but the Buick was probably the better car for once due to Old’s trans choice if you could take the Invicta’s overwrought looks.
Another short-lived name from Buick happened a decade later, when the Wildcat was replaced by the Centurion for a few years.
I love the look of this car and it is my favourite four door of the 1961 models. The roof treatment is conservative in this iteration, which I prefer.
Going from 0-60 in 8.5 seconds was plenty fast for a car of the era. Heck, it would seem plenty fast to me now, since I am old and grew up driving Rabbit Diesels. In comparison, my tuned VW Golf seems like a rocket ship.
Seems like ‘Invicta’ was one of those car names that had excellent recognition and Buick should have continued to use it. ‘Electra’ has certainly worked out for them and I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if it resurfaced on some sort of new Buick EV.
My favorite Invicta story is that the real French Connection drug car that was used to transport narcotics was actually a 1960 Invicta, specifically due to a large, hidden cavity in the front fenders between the wheelwells and doors.
It’s impressive! That “massive, motor” about crowds the large engine, bay.
Nailhead engines were actually narrower than the competition. What crowds the engine bay are the belt driven accessories and plumbing, especially air conditioning and old skool generator.
Anyone remember the instrument cluster/speedometer in these? They were a reverse design, mounted straight up from the bottom of the dash, and that’s an adjustable mirror that reflects the speedometer to the driver! Not sure who thought that one up, but it was interesting! And both a tall driver and a short driver could adjust that mirror so the cluster was visible to them.
I was a little kid when our neighbors traded in their 53 Special for a new 60 Invicta – a white four-door sedan with power steering, brakes, and windows (not sure if the seat was power). Very nicely trimmed out car, rode to church in it, alternatively in their new Corvair. Loved the model name. I was not aware it had the more powerful engine but that might explain why their oldest son, with a new driver’s license, always wanted to drive it. IIRC 1960 was the last year for Buick to have the starter connected to the accelerator – you engaged it after turning the ignition on. Very late in the game to have a two-step start procedure. The freshly styled 1961 also made the 1960 look outdated very quickly.
Nice ;
In the mid 1960’s my buddy Leslie’s dad was a confirmed Buick man and every two or three years he’d buy a nearly new Buick, several were Invictas and this was a very strong name at that time .
-Nate
I parted out one of these about 20 years ago. The entire trunk floor had rusted away but otherwise it was in fairly decent condition. The car was well made and taking it apart was enjoyable. Usually dismantling a nice old car for parts is a little sad. About the only thing I have left of it is the big chrome medallion from the center of the grill which bears the 3 Buick shields. It’s got perfect chrome and weighs about 3 lbs. GM was still using heavy die-cast methods to make body and trim pieces like grills, insignias and such.