Gilbern Invader History

Introduced in July 1969, the Invader was a direct evolution of the Genie, sharing its 159-inch fibreglass body and tube-chassis architecture but featuring a stiffer chassis and larger brakes. Power came from Ford's 2,994 cc Essex V6, backed by a four-speed all-synchromesh gearbox. From 1970 a rare estate variant joined the coupé — one of the few fibreglass-bodied estate cars of the period — with the exact total uncertain (sources vary widely — as few as ~68, while the Gilbern Owners' Club reckons ~104, and some estimates reach ~110).

A Mark II arrived at the October 1971 London Motor Show, distinguished mainly by reclining front seats. The more substantial Mark III followed in September 1972: it adopted Ford Cortina front suspension, a wider and lower body with a four-inch-wider track, wheel spats, restyled front and rear with a smaller grille and repositioned indicators, and the higher-output 3.0-litre Essex V6 from the Ford Capri 3000GT. By the Mk III, Gilbern sold the cars as factory-built-only at £2,693 — the kit-form loophole that had helped keep earlier prices down had closed with the government's introduction of Value Added Tax on kit cars in 1973.

The VAT change, combined with the 1973 Oil Crisis, proved fatal. Gilbern went bankrupt in April 1973 after producing approximately 603 Invaders in total, ending Wales's only indigenous car manufacturer after fourteen years and roughly 1,080 cars across all three models.