1962 Buick Invicta

Buick used the Invicta nameplate on its middle tier of full-size cars from '59 through '63. Less expensive and slightly sportier than the full-luxe Electra 225, and better appointed than the LeSabre, the Invicta was distinguishable at a glance from the Electra by having only three Ventiports on each front fender rather than the more expensive car's four.

Under the hood, the Invicta had the same Wildcat 445 Nailhead OHV V-8. The engine displaced 401 cubic inches, actually; the "445" in the designation referred to the torque output in pound-feet. With a four-barrel  carburetor and a 10.25:1 compression ratio, the 401 was rated at 325 SAE gross horsepower.

Standard transmission was Buick's Turbine Drive, a dual-stator automatic that delivered a driving experience very similar in feel and soundtrack to a modern CVT. It could even be push-started, which was seen as a plus in those days. The whole engine and transmission sat relatively car forward and, combined with the positioning of the driveshaft, resulted in a negligible transmission and driveline "hump" in the floor, which Buick hyped in its ad materials.

Buick referred to this forward engine placement as "Advance Thrust" design and explained it thusly in brochures:

Where and how a car's engine is mounted has a great deal to do with how that car handles, so the engineers tell us. Buick engineers thought that Buick's already superb handling could be improved upon by a change in engine location. And they were right! (They usually are.) It had been the custom to mount the engine aft of the front-wheel suspension. This year, Buick's engine is mounted slightly over the front-wheel suspension. We've called it "Advanced Thrust." The way the Buick engineers explain it, this movement of the engine toward the front is like putting more weight in the head of an arrow. It makes the arrow (and the Buick) travel truer and straighter with far less susceptibility to veer, drift or sway in strong crosswinds-the kind you encounter in most all high- way driving. Other important benefits of "Advanced Thrust" design include a dramatic reduction in road shock a n d vibration transmitted t o t h e steering wheel as well as a snappier come-back of the wheel after turns. Front-end traction is better, too. It stands t o reason, the more weight on the front wheels, the better they grip. "Advanced Thrust"-only Buick has it!

Sounds kinda understeer-y to me, but I'm not writing the ad copy.

Car Life tested a 1962 Invicta convertible, with the same drivetrain as the Cadet Blue hardtop sedan in these photos, but weighing fifty pounds more (4,390 vs. 4,340) due to the top mechanism and structural stiffening. It managed an 8.5 second run to sixty and put away the quarter mile in 16.7 seconds, hitting the traps at 82.5 mph. Over the course of the test the car returned fuel milage in the 12-15mpg rang, as the Twin Turbine gearbox was not known for its parsimony with the petrol.

This one was photographed with a Pentax K20D and an 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 zoom lens in June of 2025.