Buick remains America's oldest automotive brand, but when browsing their domestic product line today, which consists entirely of SUVs and crossovers, it's easy to forget that they once sold a variety of sedans, coupes, and convertibles. Most models emphasized Buick's taste for luxury at affordable prices, but some cars like the GSX rivaled the top sports cars from Ford and Chevrolet with their performance. The temptation is to revive all classic Buicks, which are increasingly desirable on the used car market, but it's often classic cars like the Riviera, Skylark, and GSX from the 1960s and onward that seem the most adaptable to living in the modern world.

UPDATE: 2024/03/14 18:02 EST BY OLAKUNLE BALOGUN

We've updated this post with several new and amazing examples of Buick Renders that look better than the original classics and deserve to be put into production.

Car modders and builders often have some clever ideas about how to make the concept of a modernized classic Buick a reality. Fortunately, digital artists today can render with incredible detail just what these designs would look like once completed, avoiding wasted time and costs on a project that only worked in theory. Even more impressive are artists who create renders that actually improve on the design of old Buicks, whether it's by giving them a more aerodynamic shape or adding parts that could improve their speed and handling.

The following renders effectively blend the charm of classic Buicks with modern styling, which makes it easy to envision them on roadways again.

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12 Modern Riviera GS

65 buick riviera gs restomod render
HotCars Photo © 2023 Valnet

Highlights

  • Vertical LED lights
  • Muscular fenders
  • Shining custom chrome wheels

This Modern Riviera GS Could Use A 6.2-Liter Supercharged V8

With well over one million units produced, the Buick Riviera was incredibly successful for its era, and thanks to its performance prowess, several of its models that have been abandoned are worth saving. Introduced to the automotive world in the 1960s, the version here, that has been rendered into a 2024 Riviera, is the Gran Sport (GS) version, which was originally introduced in 1965.

HotCars' digital artist Rostislav Prokop created this modern Riviera GS to show how great American luxury grand tourers can be. The render is imagined with a 6.2-liter supercharged V8 from the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, and for effective braking, Prokop slapped the render with heavy-duty Brembo 6-piston front and 4-piston rear brake calipers.

11 1966 Wildcat Restomod

Highlight

  • Naked hood shows off the enormous engine
  • Roll cage
  • Modern alloys and massive drag-strip tires

Looks Perfect For The Drag Strip

Wildcats have become valuable classic Buicks, and that's another reason mechanics often toil in attempts to bring abandoned examples back to life. Built in different body styles, Wildcat was produced by Buick in two generations, from 1963 to 1970.

In his desire to see the rebirth of classic Buicks, Rostislav Prokop's amazing imagination birthed this restomod of the 1966 Wildcat. For a modern touch, there are no chrome accents on this one, and it also has its hood and trunk yanked off, revealing its massive engine.

10 All Black Slammed 1965 Riviera

Highlights

  • An extremely low ride height
  • Alluring shiny black paint
  • Menacing front grille

Slammed 1965 Riviera Could Use An LS Swap

The Buick Riviera was launched in 1963, as GM's answer to the highly successful luxury car, the Ford Thunderbird, and several of its models have become some of the best classic bargains to buy right now. In many ways, Buick had higher ambitions than Ford with the Riviera, aiming to make it more of a performance car with superior acceleration, braking, and handling.

Created for his client Bob Baker, Emmanuel Brito paid tribute to the last edition of the first generation of the Riviera, adorning the entire car in a shiny black finish reflective enough to use as a shaving mirror. No doubt, many classic Buick fans would be perfectly fine having this 1965 Riviera serve as their daily driver.

9 GSX Stage 1 Rebirth

Highlights

  • A modern high-tech hood tach
  • Hideaway headlights
  • Classic Buick paint scheme

Built On A Camaro Chassis

Buick and muscle cars are not two words that are often spoken in the sentence. The Buick Gran Sport GS had existed since 1965, but despite having a muscle car performance, its timid looks left it out from the popular crowd of Mustangs and Camaros before the GSX arrived in 1970.

The GSX experienced mediocre sales for only a few years before meeting its demise, but HotCars digital artist Timothy Adry Emmanuel has given the old Buick another chance at muscle car glory with this rendering. Emmanuel used a Camaro chassis for his GSX Stage 1 Rebirth, comparing his creation to a classic GSX. Other than sporting the same yellow and black paintwork, the render shares little in common with the classic Buick, with its side profile more reminiscent of a Camaro. However, the back of this reimagined GSX pays tribute to the original GSX with a modernized rear lip spoiler.

8 1971 Riviera With "Wild Boar" Livery

Highlights

  • LED lights
  • Wild boar livery
  • Features a parachute

1971 Riviera Imagined With A V8 Engine

Few car redesigns were as dramatic as Buick's revision of the Riviera's exterior in 1971. The famous Buick Boat Tail car sought to differentiate it from other cars of the era with all too familiar styling, and the new Riviera certainly left an impression at over 218 inches long and a back window inspired by a 1963 Corvette Stingray.

Javier Oquendo imagines the classic 1971 Riviera with its V8 Engine as a star on the drag strip with his Wild Boar livery. His render of the classic Buick comes complete with LED lights and a parachute at the back, which would make the car a force to contend with on the racetrack.

7 Mad GNX

Highlights

  • Features a blower on its hood
  • A wicker bill spoiler

Mad GNX Is Designed To Survive The Apocalypse

The Grand National was already more powerful than the Regal that inspired it, but Buick took things a step further with the GNX in 1987, complete with a 3.8-liter V6 engine that easily exceeded 270 hp.

Artist jlord8 didn't have racing on his mind when creating this render of the GNX but rather envisioned Mad Max chasing down enemies in the iconic film series. Jlord8 shows the car which has a blower on its hood and a wicker bill spoiler on the back surviving the apocalypse, with the Main Force Patrol logo still proudly intact.

6 Rain Prisk GNX

Highlights

  • Massive dual air filters
  • Roll bars and a roll cage
  • Slammed

Rain Prisk Reimagined This GNX For Racing

The Buick Grand National, first unveiled in 1982, was inspired by the success of a souped-up Buick Regal in NASCAR races of the early 80s. The GNX version of the Grand National gave ordinary drivers a rare chance to experience the thrill of stock racing, with the beloved late 1980s muscle car.

Speedsociety didn't take too many risks with the paint job of their GNX render, sticking to a classic black, popular when showcasing old Buick cars. Still, with dual air filters sticking out of the hood, the car has racing flair, with what appears to be roll bars and a roll cage in the interior.

5 Modernized 1987 Grand National

Highlights

  • Classic Buick design
  • Retains wheel styles & badges

Cadillac-Inspired Modernized 1987 Grand National

In an automotive world dominated by crossovers and SUVs, Buick has not released a 2-door coupe since it retired the Riviera in 1999. The Buick EV Wildcat concept may change that in the years to come, but for now, the world relies on artists to depict what a modernized Grand National would look like.

Oscar Vargas has a talent for producing Cadillac-inspired designs, and you might think you are looking at a CT6 if you stumble upon this render. Traditionalists will appreciate the grille and headlights on the front of the car, and while the wheels are enlarged, their design remains faithful to the classic Buick.

4 Hellcat Swapped Grand National

Highlights

  • Blacked out
  • Back spoiler
  • Functional side vents

Grand National Envisioned With A Hellcat

The 6.2-liter Hellcat Hemi V8 engine has become a popular target for car builders, and one such project known as Hell National made waves on the internet when Enrique Ojeda installed the engine inside a Buick Grand National.

In this render, Abimelec Arellano envisions the project as completed, with black body panels complimenting a mostly standard Grand National frame. Details like the Tesla Model S rear brakes come from the actual Hell National design, but the artist took some liberties with a back spoiler divided into 3 sections.

3 1953 Skylark EV Hot Rod

Highlights

  • Gorgeous white leather interior
  • Vintage massive chrome grille
  • Low ride height

The Ultimate Classic Skylark EV Restomod

Before reaching the end of its run in 1998, the Skylark underwent a series of radical design transformations that defined each automotive era, starting with the release of the original convertible in 1953. The 1953 Skylark was the first Buick to use a V8 engine and its cutout wheels became a popular stylistic choice for Buicks in the years to come.

Abimelec Arellano's inspiration for this render was an episode of Gas Monkey Garage, referencing a request for an EV Hot Rod design, which makes Skylark one of the top classics to change to electric. The chrome trim on the black body of this Skylark and its white leather interior stand out, as well as the Detroit Steel Wheel Co. tires, slimmed down from the design of the classic Buick Skylark.

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2 Buick Riviera With Added Curves

Highlights

  • Wide body frame
  • LED lights
  • Large wheels

Slammed Buick Riviera

The classic Buick Riviera and its dramatic styling polarized the car-buying public when it was first made available in 1971. This Riviera also featured GM's Soft-Ray tinted glass and front bucket seats, but its boat tail is the design feature many car renderings focus on today.

Digital artist Rostislav Prokop doesn't provide many details about his design, but even so, the wide body frame, LED lights, and large wheels are enough to make his fans anticipate what a physical version of the render would look like.

1 21st Century Skylark

Blue 21st Century Buick Skylark
HotCars | Timothy Adry Emmanuel

Highlights

  • Prominent elements of late 1960s Skylark
  • Long crease from the front fenders to the rocker panel
  • Angular, aerodynamic body
  • Rectangular taillights

The Modern Skylark Is Imagined With Good Old V8 Power

While the Skylark was introduced in the early 1950s, it was not until its reemergence in the 1960s that the car found the mass appeal that the old Buick Skylark lacked. The 2nd generation of the Skylark is a popular source of inspiration for car artists who contemplate what a modern-day version of the classic Buick might look like.

In a HotCars Exclusive Render, digital artist Timothy Adry Emmanuel attempts to combine the familiar elements of a late 1960s Skylark, including its generous crease on the sides of its body, with a sleeker contemporary look that buyers flock to at dealerships today. The quad exhaust on the back indicates that the car would still possess plenty of gas-powered speed.

Sources: Buick