Cool cars – relative to their era – have awesome powertrains, eye-popping aesthetics that includes a well-designed interior, and are widely loved by automobile enthusiasts. Putting these parameters into consideration, Buick built some really cool cars. Now a division of General Motors, Buick’s history can be traced to as far back as 1903, which was the year Buick Motor Division was created, and precedes the existence of its parent company.
Named after Scottish-born American-based automotive pioneer, David Buick, Buick Motor Division built its first mass-marketed car in 1904, with a total production unit of 37 vehicles. The company’s production capacity kept increasing yearly to about 1.4 million in 2017. Serving China, United States, Mexico, and Canada among others, and with millions of vehicles sold since its inception to date, here are the coolest cars ever made by Buick.
10 1987 GNX
The 1987 Buick GNX is a special car – both to the company and Buick enthusiasts, as well. The car was built majorly as an experimental project for the Grand National, hence the acronym, GNX. Knowing the significance of the project, Buick partnered with Detroit based engineering firm, McLaren Performance for the upgrade.
A total of 547 units of Grand National Buicks were upgraded to GNX. The car is powered by an engine that has been tweaked to produce up to 300 hp.
9 1984 March Indy Car
Brands race for several reasons which includes advocacy, building customer loyalty, and also leveraging on streetcar technologies gotten from producing the racing cars. In 1984, Buick got all that plus some street credibility when the company’s driver, Scott Brayton drove his Buick-powered March racecar to new records at the Indianapolis 500.
The racecar was significant as the time was the fastest a production-spec engine block had ever achieved at the Indies.
8 1970 GSX
In the muscle era, the battle for the top muscle market share was fierce and Buick wasn’t left out. To garner points, Buick tuned the highly rated GS 455, and the result is the GSX. Regarded as the most luxurious muscle car of its era, the GSX competed with highly rated muscle cars such as the Chevrolet’s Chevelle SS, Pontiac’s GTO Judge, and Oldsmobile’s 4-4-2 W-30.
Also, its 510 lb-ft held the record for the highest torque output of an American performance car until 2003.
7 1938 Century
The year was 1938 and automobiles didn't offer much or comfort… but that didn’t apply to the Buick Century. The Century was Buick’s largest sedan, and it had so much interior space it could hold a party.
Asides the luxury of space, the Century was no snail – the car features an iconic 320-cubic-inch engine with a power output of 141 hp. This was enough to propel it to a top speed of 100mph, making Century the fastest Buick of that era.
6 1909 Model 16B Racers
Racing has always been a great way of promoting automobiles while winning provides the brand with a great marketing advantage. In the early 1900s, as the head of the company, the importance of racing wasn’t lost on William Durant.
In 1909, Durant built a team led by Louis Chevrolet who drove the Model 16B racers to victory. These Racers were powered by a Buick four-cylinder engine and 112-inch wheelbase roadster chassis.
5 1961 Special Skylark
The Buick Special’s journey started in 1936 and in the year 1961, as a follow-up, Buick released an even more “special” trim, the Skylark. For the entire criticism thrown at the Buick Special, the Buick Special Skylark was the perfect rebuttal. More of a coupe, the Skylark is a two-door sedan that oozes luxury both inside and out.
As an upgraded Special, Skylark is powered by a 3.5 L four-barrel carburetor V8 engine with an output of 185 hp at 4600 rpm.
4 2012 Regal GS
After a brief hiatus, Buick fashioned a big way of coming back into the production of high-performance cars, and the automotive company did it with the 2012 Regal GS. As a performance car, the Regal GS is powered by a turbocharged, direct-injected 2.0 L inline-four engine. This engine produces 270 hp and 295 lb-ft torque.
It gets better with the GS, has it’s fitted with the LaCrosse HiPer strut front suspension – this is built to control torque steer and increase ride efficiency.
3 1963 Riviera
Conceived by world-renowned American automobile designer Bill Mitchell, the Buick Riviera is a successful attempt by Americans to replicate European styling and performance in large vehicles. For the 1963 model year, the Buick Riviera had a wheelbase of 117 inches, length of 208 inches, and width of 76.6 inches.
Being the introduction model, the 1963 Riviera has a distinctive bodyshell which features a classy styling with a “Coke bottle look” and a thin middle area surrounded by flaring fenders.
2 1971 Riviera
For the third generation models that started in 1971, Buick took the Riviera’s styling and performance a notch higher. Taking design inspiration from the 1963 Corvette Sting Ray split-window coupe, the 1971 Riviera has a beautifully crafted “boat-tail” styling.
This styling also has the GM’s “Full-Flo” ventilation system in addition to two big decklid louvers located on the trunk lid. To meet EPA emission requirements, the car features the 455 engine with a lower compression ratio which effectively reduces power output to 255 hp.
1 1954 Wildcat II concept
Buick used the Wildcat name five times for its concept cars but the one that caught our attention the most is that of 1954. Arguably the most beautiful automobile Buick never mass-produced, the Wildcat II can only be appreciated as a concept – but a “drivable” one at that.
While most concepts are built for shows without having the needed engine to power them, the 1954 Buick Wildcat II was different; the car has a 220 hp 322 cubic inch V8.