Buying Guide
Gilbern Invader
‘A high quality machine with a comfortable and luxurious interior’
From £8000 you could be driving one of these sharp-suited lightweight Welsh grand tourers, complete with urge from Ford’s Essex V6. Here’s what you need to look out for when buying
The Gilbern Invader remains one of the better-kept secrets of the classic car world almost 50 years since the last one left the Llantwitt Major factory.
Too often incorrectly dismissed as a kit car, the Invader was a well-designed and extremely well engineered machine. Gilbern put a lot of effort into its suspension, combining in-house-designed components and suitably altered MG parts in front with a Ford-sourced rear axle. The result feels like a combination of an MGC and a Capri; good straightline acceleration with predictable cornering and a rear end that gets entertainingly lively in the wet. Invaders were delivered painted, wired and trimmed, requiring the buyer to fit the engine, exhaust and running gear – all mechanical components were supplied new from Gilbern and under respective manufacturer warranties. This combination of off-the-shelf parts in a small, lightweight body resulted in a highquality machine with a particularly comfortable and luxurious interior.
Unfortunately it was £600 more expensive than a Reliant Scimitar back in 1969 and the advent of VAT in April 1973 meant that any purchase tax savings from buying the car part-finished disappeared.
Today, with fewer than 500 cars known to the Gilbern Owners’ Club, they are rare curios indeed, which can nonetheless be used regularly, being so simple to look after. As well as heeding the advice that follows, you’d be foolhardy to buy any Gilbern without seeking advice from the very helpful aforementioned club, which even has history files on every example built and has made a terrific effort to ensure that parts are still available.