Almost entirely original, including its original paint and interior, the Riviera has only notched 53,528 miles making it not only an exemplary showpiece, but also a car that looks set to go the distance for years to come.įor full auction information, head to the RM Sotheby’s website. This specific Burgundy Buick looks set to roll up to auction via RM Sotheby’s Paris series on the 3 rd February 2016 presented as one of the finest Riviera’s in existence. Representing a distinct American attitude, the Riviera became a considerable force in the luxury American car market. The amalgamation of ideas consolidated the Buick as a defining car of a generation. The result ensured that the Riviera boasted enigmatic, aggressive styling, complimented with subtle touches of Ferrari attitude, seemingly the sharp-edged fenders and sloping roofline. With the Ford’s exponential growth prompting Bill Mitchell, GM’s design chief, to create the Buick to rival the Thunderbird's domination.Ī devoted Ferrari enthusiast, Mitchell combined his favourite styling cues and essentials from both manufactures in project XP-715, originally created as the LaSalle II for Cadillac but it was subsequently adopted by Buick as the Riviera. The engine, displacing 425 cubic inches, delivers 340 hp and, more important, 465 lb-ft of torque, good for 0-to-60. Ford’s ‘personal luxury car’ continued to outsell the Corvette, an upward scale which was heightened through the introduction of the enlarged ‘Square Bird’ between 1958-60. In the performance department, the two-ton Riviera holds its own very nicely. Inspired by the Corvette-Thunderbird rivalry that epitomised automotive innovation in the mid-1950’s, the Riviera was created to challenge the supremacy of the aforementioned muscle cars. I retained most of the Turbine’s sheet metal and design cues except for the front clip and the tail.A revolutionary model in automotive design, the Buick Riviera changed the face of muscle cars the moment it was unveiled in 1963. How about a gas-turbine-powered Riviera? I started with Chrysler’s experimental Turbine Car for this rendition (Chrysler had 50 examples built and loaned them to Americans across the country for customer evaluation during 1963). The first job would be to chop the top about two inches and bend the A-pillars back to make the angle of the windshield a bit steeper.įorgotten Concept: AMC Concept Grand Touringġ962 Buick Riviera by Chrysler Chrysler Turbine Car I based this one on American Motors’ all-new-for-1963 Ambassador/Classic two-door sedan. It was at that time that the Riv became a symbol of American luxury, power, and design that solidified the car’s classic status. That little “what-if” element of the ’63 Riviera’s origin story got me thinking… what would the Riviera have looked like if AMC, Chrysler, Studebaker, or Ford had designed it based on one of their “off the shelf” bodies? Here’s what I think those automakers might have done:Īlternate-Universe 1963 Buick Riviera Designs AMC 1963 Buick Riviera by AMCġ962 Buick Riviera by AMC 1963 Rambler Ambassador While the Riviera name in the Buick scheme dates as far back as the late 1940s, it wasn’t until 1963 that the Riviera became a stand-alone model. Erics Muscle Cars is proud to offer this Beautifully Restored Sports Roadster and is listed in the. However, among other logistical reasons, Buick sales needed a boost at the time, so the Riviera it became. Buick debuted the Riviera in October 1962 as GM’s personally luxury car created to compete with the Ford Thunderbird. Indeed, some authorities have noted that Mitchell wanted this to be his statement for the era, and with that in mind he set out to design a four-place. It was initially proposed as a revival of the LaSalle name for Cadillac (LaSalle was Cadillac’s lower-priced nameplate, and it ran from 1927-40). This Buick Riviera is the rare 1963 425 cu in, 7-liter, 445 Wildcat Nailhead version, with 2-speed auto turbine transmission, the seller notes. They did and the result was the 1963 Buick Riviera that some auto enthusiasts and connoisseurs believe is one of the best-looking vehicles to emerge from Buick’s design shop in the 1960s. Interestingly, the 1963 Riviera wasn’t originally conceived as a Buick. Its razor-edge roof styling, for instance, was inspired by certain 1950s English custom bodywork. Mitchell freely admitted to borrowing some of the ’63 Riviera’s key design elements. This svelte personal-luxury hardtop coupe artfully blended American and British style, and it changed the Buick brand’s somewhat stodgy image almost overnight. By Frank Peilerīuick’s 1963 Riviera is widely considered to be one of the most beautiful cars ever produced by any auto manufacturer. 1963 Buick Riviera (L), and some of Collectible Automobile Publisher Frank Peiler’s “what-if” designs. First year 1963 Buick Riviera sales totaled 40,000, against the Thunderbird’s 56,945, counting 42,806 Hardtops and 14,139 Landau Hardtops.
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