1960 Buick Invicta Wins SEMA Award

The Specialty Equipment Market Association, or SEMA, has been an annual event since 1967 to showcase some of the best and most innovative aftermarket products and solutions for the automotive industry. 

Mother’s Battle of The Builders

Since 2015, there has been a competition sponsored by Mother’s, called The Battle of the Builders. This event is meant to highlight certain custom vehicles from different builders at SEMA. Each year a group of four finalists are chosen, and from those four one is picked as the sole winner. The categories that the four finalists are chosen from are 4-Wheel Drive and Off-Road, Hot Rod and Hot Rod Truck, Sport Compact/Import Performance, Luxury and Exotic, as well as Young Guns. For 2023, the winner was a 1960 Buick Invicta Custom X60 built by Andy Leach and Cal Automotive Creations (CAC) for their customers George and Angela Eliacostas. 

A Decade In The Making

This custom Invicta took over 9 years to complete, as a different shop started the project before arriving at CAC to redo everything. In 1960, the Buick Invicta was available with a 6.6-liter 401 cubic-inch Buick Nailhead V8 that produced 325 horsepower and 444 lb-ft of torque when new. The Custom X60 keeps the factory engine and adds a crank-driven supercharger and a blower with one-off brackets to mount in the engine bay. Power is sent to the rear wheels via a General Motors 4L80E 4-speed automatic transmission. 

Custom Suspension

Riding around town is comfortable and modern with the one-of-a-kind, independent rear suspension, plus machined upper and lower front control arms, and a set of Penske coilover shocks all around. Overall, the 1960 Invicta Custom X60 is 222 inches long, which is 18.5 feet. To put that into perspective, the GMC Sierra 1500 crew cab with a short box, otherwise the full-size 4-door Sierra 1500, is 19.32 feet long. 

Unique Fabrication

Practically everything on the Invicta Custom X60 was completely fabricated to make it a totally unique vehicle. For instance, the front wheel wells are 1.5 inches closer to the front of the car, and the hood has been lengthened while the cowl is shortened. The cowl is the space between the hood and the windshield. 

At Penz Buick GMC of Rochester, we take pride in knowing we have some of the best prices around for you. We have dozens of new and used cars for sale that can fit everyone’s needs. Our fantastic sales team and finance department will work hard to get you the best price. Visit our amazing service department where we will work tirelessly to ensure your vehicle stays in the absolute best shape.