JAN 2026 | ISSUE 39
By Ryan Spencer
AN INTRODUCTION
The Invested Car Magazine began as a hobby in 2020, offering a creative outlet during the challenging times of the pandemic. What started as a personal project has rapidly gained momentum, capturing the attention of car enthusiasts worldwide and growing our loyal following each day. Me, Ryan Spencer, the visionary founder of the publication, serve as the heart and soul of the publication, I single handedly perform the editing, writing, and design, while our talented photographers contribute stunning imagery that brings each issue to life. I hope you are enjoying the content as much as I enjoy creating it. Your feedback and ideas are invaluable to me, so please don't hesitate to get in touch. Together, we can continue to fuel our passion for motoring. Ryan Spencer Founder
JAN 2026 | ISSUE 39
contents features
4. BIG ORANGE B@LLOCKS 1971 Chevrolet Camaro RS retromod... Imagery ~ James Webber 56. PRAYING MANTIS 1968 Marcos Mantis XP, One of a kind... Imagery ~ Various
32. PRESS START 2024 Lamborghini Revuelto V12... Imagery ~ Gregory Pico
76. 2B, OR NOT MR2 BE 2026 Toyota GR MR-S, will it be... Imagery ~ Unknown
articles & regulars
46. IRV GORDON The epic story of the 3.2 million miles he drove... By Ryan Spencer.
18. JOHN SURTEES A look at the life of John Surtees... By Ryan Spencer. 68. TIMEPIECE CHATTER An introduction to our new section as of January... By Ryan Spencer.
Imported into the UK in 1992, the car had passed through seven owners and covered 123,000 miles. Originally finished in a brown exterior with a beige and brown interior, it left Jon uninspired. The transformation to Hugger Orange with a black vinyl interior was an easy choice and one that instantly elevates the car’s presence. It suits the long nose, aggressive stance, and that era-defining split bumper an RS hallmark that later models would lose.
Inside, the dash and glove box were refreshed, and modern safety was subtly added with three point front belts and lap belts in the rear. One of Jon’s favourite touches is an electric boot release, an ingenious blend of Pontiac and Lexus components, activated by a spare factory style dash button.
The Camaro sits on 17 inch AMR Torq Thrust IIs, a safe but timeless choice, wrapped in 255 section rubber all round. It looks immaculate, the sort of car you might expect to see sealed inside a carcoon. But Jon is quick to point out the stone chips and signs of use with pride. This Camaro is driven, and driven hard at times.
By the mid 1950s he had become the dominant force in Grand Prix motorcycle racing. With MV Agusta he was formidable, racking up seven world championships between 1956 and 1960, including four successive titles in the premier 500cc class. His style was assertive but measured, riding right on the limit while rarely looking ragged. Even the famously partisan Italian crowd took him to heart, a rare accolade for a British rider in that era.
What makes Surtees truly singular, though, is that he was never content to stop there. At the peak of his motorcycle career he began to look elsewhere, drawn by the complexity and challenge of racing cars. The leap from bikes to single seaters was uncommon and usually unrewarding, but Surtees approached it methodically. He tested relentlessly, listened closely and learned quickly. It soon became clear he was not dabbling! he was adapting.
Walking away from driving at the end of 1972 did little to dull his involvement. He founded the Surtees Racing Organisation, fielding cars in Formula One and the junior categories. While the team never troubled the front runners, it became known as a serious, thoughtful operation, nurturing young talent and exploring new ideas. Once again, Surtees demonstrated that his understanding of racing extended well beyond the cockpit.
The final years of his life were marked by profound personal loss. The death of his son Henry in a Formula 2 accident in 2009 was devastating. Yet even then, Surtees channelled his grief into action, helping to establish the Henry Surtees Foundation to support people with life changing injuries. It revealed a quieter side to a man often defined by toughness and resolve. When John Surtees died in March 2017, tributes came from every corner of the motorsport world. Riders and drivers, engineers and organisers all spoke with the same reverence. Sir Jackie Stewart called him the greatest all round racer the sport has ever seen, a judgement few would dispute
At the heart of the Revuelto is a brand new naturally aspirated V12, still mounted longways behind the driver, exactly where it belongs. Lamborghini didn’t downsize it into turbocharged anonymity or bury it under layers of electric apology. Instead, they paired it with electric motors in a way that feels aggressive, intentional, and unapologetically on brand. The result is a powertrain that delivers brutal immediacy at low speeds and a spine tingling crescendo as the revs climb. This is the kind of engine that doesn’t just make noise, it makes an event out of every throttle input
From the outside, the Revuelto looks like it escaped from a concept car display and somehow made it to production without compromise. Lamborghini’s design language has always leaned toward the dramatic, but here it’s been sharpened into something more technical and futuristic. The Y shaped lighting signatures, razor edged body lines, and aerospace inspired surfaces all work together to give the Revuelto an unmistakable presence. It looks less like a car and more like a weapon, low, wide, and tense, as if it’s constantly on the verge of launching itself forward.
Yet what’s most impressive is how composed the Revuelto feels. Lamborghini has always been known for straight line drama, but this car takes a noticeable step forward in terms of handling precision. The chassis feels rigid and confidence inspiring, the steering is direct, and the AWD system gives you the confidence to push harder than you might expect. It’s still a wild animal, but it’s one that’s been trained just enough to listen to your inputs without losing its edge
Switch into more aggressive driving modes, and the Revuelto transforms. The exhaust note sharpens, the suspension firms up, and the car feels like it’s daring you to explore its limits. The V12 sings at high rpm, delivering that unmistakable Lamborghini scream that enthusiasts crave. It’s a sound that feels increasingly rare in a world of turbochargers and electric whirs, a reminder of why engines like this matter.
Gordon, born in New York in 1939, bought his Volvo fresh out of college in 1966. He wasn’t chasing records or dreaming of automotive fame. He was a science teacher who wanted a car he could depend on, something comfortable, well built, and capable of eating up miles without complaint. The Volvo 1800 fit the bill perfectly. From day one, Gordon treated the car less like an appliance and more like a trusted companion, driving it daily instead of letting it waste away in a garage.
What really separates Gordon from the rest of us is just how much he drove. This wasn’t a weekend cruiser or a sunny day classic. The 1800 was his daily driver, road trip machine, and cross country workhorse. Logging over 100,000 miles a year became normal. Mile by mile, decade after decade, the odometer kept spinning. By 1987, it rolled past one million miles, an achievement so rare it caught Volvo’s attention. The company stepped in, recognizing that this wasn’t just a high mileage car, but a rolling demonstration of what their engineering could endure.
Beneath that sharp-edged, futuristic fibreglass skin sat a plywood monocoque chassis with steel subframes, classic Marcos thinking, brilliantly unconventional and ruthlessly weight conscious. And then there was the engine. Initially, the XP was fitted with a 3 liter Repco Brabham Formula 1 V8, a proper Grand Prix motor, capable of well north of 300 horsepower in race trim. Power went through a Hewland five speed manual gearbox, straight out of the racing parts bin, because anything less simply wouldn’t do.
The suspension was equally serious. Fully independent and derived from Formula 1 hardware, it was designed to deliver the razor sharp responses needed for fast, punishing circuits like Le Mans and Spa. With a kerb weight of around 650 kilos, a mid engine layout, and slippery prototype aerodynamics, the Mantis XP promised explosive performance, and brutal acceleration paired with agile, confident handling.
Very few people can claim to know what a Mantis XP feels like to drive, but those who’ve experienced it describe something raw, intense, and utterly uncompromising. You sit impossibly low, just over 90cm off the ground, with pin sharp steering and firm suspension delivering every nuance of road and track directly to your fingertips. It’s far closer to a GT40 or full blown prototype racer than anything you would call a road car.
Inside, the experience would have been overwhelming in the best possible way. Vast Perspex panels, minimal insulation, and a thundering V8 just inches behind your back mean noise, heat, and vibration are all part of the package. Like other Marcos machines, the wooden chassis adds a distinctive feel, light, stiff, and brutally honest. It’s thrilling, but it demands respect.
We begin at the summit with Patek Philippe, widely regarded as the gold standard of haute horology. Renowned for record-breaking auction results and the concept of generational ownership, Patek Philippe represents the ultimate expression of traditional craftsmanship and long term value. Alongside it stands Rolex, the most recognizable luxury watch brand in the world. From the Submariner to the Daytona, Rolex has perfected the balance between rugged reliability, timeless design, and enduring investment appeal. Few brands have reshaped modern watch design as profoundly as Audemars Piguet. The Royal Oak, with its bold octagonal bezel and integrated bracelet, redefined what a luxury sports watch could be. Equally rooted in tradition is Vacheron Constantin, one of the oldest continuously operating watchmakers, celebrated for refined complications, classical elegance, and meticulous finishing.
Pushing the boundaries of contemporary watchmaking is Richard Mille, a brand that blends extreme engineering with cutting edge materials and motorsport inspired design. Its watches, often worn by elite athletes, resemble high-performance machines built for the wrist. In contrast, A. Lange & Söhne represents the pinnacle of German precision, admired for immaculate finishing, mechanical purity, and a distinctly architectural aesthetic. No discussion of horology would be complete without Breguet, a historic innovator whose inventions, including the tourbillon, helped shape the foundations of modern watchmaking. Similarly influential is Jaeger LeCoultre, often called the watchmaker’s watchmaker for its role in supplying movements to many elite brands while sustaining its own legacy of technical excellence.
JAN 2026 | ISSUE 39
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