In its all-too-short lifetime Invicta carved out an enviable reputation for building fine sporting motor cars, the bigger Meadows-engined models in particular offering class-leading performance and impeccable build quality.

For customers less concerned with ultimate performance, the company offered the 12/45.

Introduced in 1932 and built to the firm’s customary high standards, the 12hp ‘Small Invicta’ was an intriguing exercise in circumventing the ludicrous tax on engine capacity that dictated British design policy between the wars.

Strongly built and well finished in typical Invicta fashion, the 12/45 used a 1½-litre, six-cylinder, single-overhead-camshaft, Blackburne engine and was available with either tourer or saloon coachwork.

Like its big 4½-Litre sister, the Small Invicta had a massive chassis with wide-set springs for maximum stability; nevertheless, it was geared for good acceleration.

Contemporary press reports praised the car’s beautiful proportions: ‘the wheelbase is...