September 2019 Classic & Sports Car 129The 1963 Riviera nearly wasn’t a Buick at all,
having initially been developed for Cadillac to
be badged as the LaSalle II. Project XP-715 –
which was to remain remarkably similar to the
production model – was rejected by Cadillac,
however, and immediately snapped up by ener-
getic Buick boss Edward D Rollert as the perfect
rival for the Ford Thunderbird. Its combination
of clean, crisp lines and high performance were
reportedly the result of Mitchell’s request for a
car that blended the very best from Ferrari and
Rolls-Royce... hardly the simplest of briefs.
Three years on, the Riviera was reborn and the
1966-’70 model remains an undeniably elegant
machine, but it lost the original’s ability to stop
pedestrians in their tracks and have car-mad kids
peering into dealership windows before unleash-
ing pester power on their parents. That would
return with a bang for the 1971 season, with one
of Buick’s most controversial production models.
The new Riviera was bold in the extreme, with
a cliff-face of a nose fronted by huge moulded
bumpers, and a tapering ‘boat-tail’ conjuring
images of the greatest excesses from ’30s US car
design, such as the iconic Auburn Speedster.
Inevitably with such a dramatic creation, the
’71 restyle owed its greatest debt to Bill Mitchell.
Unlike the first-generation car, this design was
to be a Buick from the start. It wasn’t, however,
meant to be as big as it became – measuring a
faintly ridiculous 218in from stem to stern, and
a fraction less than 80in wide. The initial plan
was to build the third-generation version on the
more compact GM ‘A-body’ platform, but cost
constraints required that the stylists fit their
shape to the significantly larger ‘B-body’ of the
LeSabre. As Mitchell later explained: “It got
so wide, a speedboat became a tugboat.”
The influence of the famous design boss is
clear to see in the Corvette Sting Ray-style fast-
back, but instead of that car’s split screen the
Riviera features a butt-jointed rear glass with a
stress line down the centre. And while Mitchell
would be the face of the new design, the legwork
was done by Jerry Hirshberg. A GM alumnus
since 1964, and later chief designer of Buick
Studio 2, he was tasked with turning his boss’
ideas into a roadgoing reality.
“The car looked slightly eccentric,” Hirsh-
berg later admitted to Automobile Quarterly, “but
so would a Corvette if it were the size of a Cadil-
lac. I have taken a gentle ribbing around the
office about it, but the car did have aspects I like
myself. Mitchell wanted a classic. And to Bill’s
credit, he liked a little controversy.”
It’s a design that has aged well, in particular
the tapering tail and extravagantly pinched waist,
further accentuated by its reinterpretation of the
‘Sweepspear’ trim. At the time, however, it was
divisive to say the least. Buick’s press release
called it ‘The most daring new car design in
recent history’, but in private incoming generalBUICK RIVIERA
Sold/number built 1971-’73/101,618
Construction steel cruciform separate
chassis, steel body
Engine all-iron, ohv 455cu in (7456cc) 90º
V8, Rochester four-barrel carburettor
Max power 250bhp @ 4000rpm
Max torque 375lb ft @ 2800rpm
Transmission three-speed auto, RWD
Suspension: front independent, by double
wishbones, anti-roll bar rear trailing arms;
coil springs, telescopic dampers f/r
Steering variable-ratio power-assisted
recirculating ball
Brakes discs front, drums rear, with servo
Length 18ft 2^1 / 4 in (5545mm)
Width 6ft 8in (2032mm)
Height 4ft 6in (1372mm)
Wheelbase 10ft 2in (3099mm)
Weight 4554lb (2066kg)
0-60mph 9.9 secs
Top speed 123mph Mpg 10.6-12.8
Price new $5143.05
Price now from £15,000‘The new Riviera was bold
in the extreme, its boat-
tail conjuring images of
the greatest excesses
from ’30s US car design’