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Buick built the 1965 Riviera as a luxury coupe, then quietly optioned in a 360-horsepower 425 V8 for buyers who wanted it both ways. Fewer than 3,500 people checked that box, making the Gran Sport one of the rarest true muscle cars of the era. Decades later, Bill Burr got behind the wheel with Jay Leno – and left convinced it might be the meanest car he’s ever driven.
Buick’s full-size 1964 Wildcat looked like a country-club cruiser, but the option sheet hid a 360-horsepower dual-quad 425 and a four-speed stick behind that formal grille. Only 7,850 convertibles were built that year, and a rare survivor with the full performance package still turns heads six decades later.
Long before Riviera meant a swoopy two-door coupe, Buick used the name on this formal, chrome-heavy 1957 Super four-door hardtop, powered by the distinctive 364 cubic-inch Nailhead V8. Small styling cues like four VentiPorts per fender and chrome rear chevrons quietly told other drivers exactly how much Buick they were looking at. Read on to find out how Dynaflow made this Super feel smoother than any geared automatic of its era.
This 1960 Buick Invicta convertible still carries its original 401 cubic-inch Nailhead V8, a genuine 325-horsepower engine Buick built for buyers who wanted real performance without admitting they wanted a hot rod. The nickname that followed the Invicta around, “the banker’s hot rod,” captures exactly the contradiction between its respectable badge and what was actually happening under the hood. Read on to find out what made this quietly powerful Buick tick.
Buick built the Special as its cheapest model for two decades, but the 322-cubic-inch V8 standard in 1956 still made it a genuine performer, not just an economy choice. The three chrome ventiports on each fender were Buicks own status code, telling buyers exactly where the Special sat below the four-port Super and Roadmaster. With 334,000 built across five body styles, it was anything but unpopular. It also represents one of the last years before the Special name disappeared entirely.