My Top 10 Favourite Concept Cars

Ever since the Buick Y-Job made it’s debut way back in 1938, concept cars have shown us what the future of the automobile would look like, with a lot of beautiful, futuristic, jaw-dropping shapes and interiors. Here are my 10 favourite concepts.

Aston Martin CC100 Speedster

Bentley EXP 10 Speed 6

Buick Wildcat II

Cadillac Cien

Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Racer

GM Firebird II

Holden Hurricane

Jaguar XK180

Maserati Birdcage 75th

Oldsmobile Golden Rocket Dream Car

My Top 10 Favourite Buicks

David Dunbar Buick, was born in Arbroath, Angus, Scotland in 1854 and, with his family, moved to Detroit when he was just 2 years old. Although being a plumber, his interest suddenly turned to the internal combustion engine, thus persuading him to sell his plumbing business in order for him to experiment with such machinery. It was then that it all began, when he founded the Buick Motor Company in 1903, although immediately falling into debt whilst trying to perfect his first vehicle, which was powered by the revolutionary over-head-valve engine to which Buick had refined. Then along came a man by the name of William C. Durant, who bought the company in 1908, consolidating it, and thus becoming the cornerstone of the establishment of that automotive empire we all know as, General Motors. Then in many years time, Buick went on to become an automotive crystal palace, well known for making cars that exuded quality, style, performance, and luxury, and as it’s famous advertising slogan goes: “When better automobiles are built, Buick will build them”. So here are my top 10 favourite models from the oldest, still active American marque.

Buick Electra 225 Convertible (1961)

After the demise of the Roadmaster in 1958, the Electra 225 became Buick’s new flagship model for the next 31 years. Former president of Buick, Harlow H. Curtice named the company’s new flagship after Electra Waggoner Biggs, i.e, his sister in law. This particular example is a 1961 Convertible, my personal favourite of all the Electra 225s, with that beautiful and slimming bodywork, the smooth and powerful 401 cid (6.6 litre) OHV Nailhead V8, and the luxurious interior. A great example of a luxury cruiser.

Buick GSX

Despite Buick being GM’s luxury brand one step below flagship brand, Cadillac, it’s no secret that they responded to the muscle car wars that were occurring throughout America at the time. But of course, being a luxury brand, the Buicks were easily the most opulent of all the muscle cars that were out there. The company’s ultimate steroid-filled runabout at the time was none other than the GSX, with a monster of a 455-cid (7.5 litre) V8 engine that churned out 350-360 horsepower (depending on the performance package) and 691 newton-metres of tower block-pulling torque, which was the highest torque output of any American production performance car, a 33 year record that was eventually eclipsed by the Dodge Viper in 2003. The partly reason for all of these incredible performance specs, was because of the weight of the car, which was roughly 68 kilos less than Plymouth’s Hemi ‘Cuda or Chevrolet’s Chevelle SS 454, in spite of being a much more luxurious car by comparison.

Buick LaCrosse Super

The LaCrosse was first released in 2004, but it wasn’t until 2008, that it really became a 21st century icon for Buick. Reviving a name which had been on Buicks in the ’40s and ’50s, the Super trim of the LaCrosse consisted of ventiports (a famous Buick styling trademark revived) under the bonnet, waterfall front grille, rear spoiler, projector beam fog lights, etc. But the thing that makes this Buick so special (apart from the styling), was the engine, which was GM’s 5.3 litre LS3 small block V8 with the very clever Active Fuel Management technology, which allows cylinder deactivation under light loading conditions, thus improving fuel economy. Power-wise, it churned out 300 horsepower and 438 newton-metres of torque, making this luxurious beast quite capable of reaching a top speed of 240km/h and a 0-100km/h time of 5.7 seconds, all of which made the LaCrosse Super one of the fastest modern Buicks ever made.

Buick Lucerne Super

Getting it’s name from a city in Central Switzerland, the Lucerne was introduced in 2006 as the company’s new flagship model replacing both Park Avenue and LeSabre models. The cream of the crop of which, was the more powerful and upscale Super, with an enhanced version of GM’s 4.6 litre Northstar V8 engine churning out 292 horsepower and 390 newton-metres of torque, updated styling which consisted of Buick’s then new waterfall grille, four ventiports underneath both sides of the bonnet, and rear spoiler which intentionally gave the Super a bolder and sportier look than the standard model. All of which made the Lucerne Super a true cocktail mix of European-influenced styling and American V8 oomph and luxury.

Buick Regal GNX

It was the mid 1980s, and it had been yonks since the muscle car period had dropped dead, but Buick wasn’t gonna let this prevent them from reintroducing the type of performance car as such. And that’s exactly what Buick has done here, with the Regal GNX. Powered by an ASC McLaren engineered and intercooled turbocharged V6 engine churning out 300 horsepower (the same as the more recent LaCrosse Super) and 515 newton-metres of tower block-pulling torque, this “Vader-mobile” (me so calling it, because of it’s entirely black body and looks like the car Darth Vader would drive), was one of Buick’s fastest production models and proved that not all American cars of the 1980s (including the Corvette) were bland and uninspiring.

Buick Riviera (1963)

“What we want, is a cross between a Ferrari and a Rolls” were the words of GM’s design guru, Bill Mitchell, after having been beguiled by a Rolls Royce that he spotted slithering past a hotel when he was in London at the time. Launched in 1963, competing with Ford’s iconic Thunderbird, this “American-Bentley” – as it probably would have been and still described as such – had a clean, crisp, razor sharp design that really made it stand out in the crowd, and with the 401-cid (6.5 litre) OHV Nailhead V8 engine that churned out an impressive 325 horsepower, it had performance to match. Also, the interior, which was not only luxurious and clever, also had a bit of a European ambience to it compared with other American cars at the time, with a floor mounted gear shift and circular dials on the dashboard.

Buick Series 60 Century Sedanette (1941)

First launched in 1936 and nicknamed “the banker’s hot rod” (because it looked like the sort of car a banker would drive, and it had the performance of a hot rod, sort of), the Century became a performance icon for Buick. The car was named as such when a Buick executive, who had done a recent trip around the British Isles, said to his mates that the British referred to going 100 mph (160km/h) as “doing the century”. The blokes at Buick approved of the name – considering that at the time, they were designing a model that would be capable of reaching such speed – and so thus the name stuck. This particular model is a 1941 Sedanette, which is quite arguably the ultimate Century of them all. It was powered by the same engine that powered the top of the line Roadmaster and Limited models, the 320-cid (5.2 litre) OHV Fireball straight-eight with an induction system Buick introduced that year called “Compound Carburetion” (the precursor to today’s four-barrel), a linkage allowing one of dual two-barrel carburetors in the engine to operate at slow speed and idle, and the other one to engage for more fuel flow during higher speeds. Power-wise, it churned out 165 horsepower, which was 5 more than Packard’s top of the line range, 15 more than models from Buick’s sister and GM flagship marque, Cadillac, and 25 more than the biggest models offered by Chrysler. All of which made the Buicks the most powerful cars in America at the time, and the Century in particular, the fastest.

Buick Series 70 Roadmaster Convertible (1949)

When Buick launched it’s 1949 Roadmaster, it became a post-war sensation in the company’s history. Stylistically, it was definitely something to write home about, with a low silhouette, long bonnet with a gun sight ornament, 25-tooth “Dollar Grin” grille, the then-new ventiports (which in many years time would become a definitive Buick trademark), and sweepspear (a curved trim line running almost the length of the vehicle), all accompanied by Buick’s smooth and powerful 320-cid (5.2 litre) OHV Fireball straight-eight. This particular example is the convertible version, which is arguably considered the crème de la crème of all Roadmasters, and is best known by movie buffs as the car that Tom Cruise drove in the film, “Rain Man”, along with Dustin Hoffman.

Buick Skylark (1953)

Buick decided to update their image in 1953, launching their 322-cid (5.3 litre) OHV Nailhead V8, so called because of the unusual vertical position of its small-sized valves, which looked like nails, and a special limited edition model convertible, the Skylark. Based on the chassis of the company’s flagship Roadmaster, the Skylark was a ’50s sensation, with a beautiful, racy exterior, sweepspear along the side, Kelsey-Hayes 40-spoke chrome wheels, and equipment that was anything beyond Buick had previously offered. Also, with the 322-cid (5.3 litre) OHV Nailhead V8 engine that churned out 188 horsepower, although it wasn’t quite a sports car, it was nothing short of performance credentials. A truly iconic slice of 1950s apple pie.

Buick Wildcat II Concept

Concept cars are one of the things that Buick gets absolutely right, and has done so since the Y-Job of 1938. This concept in particular, the Wildcat II, made it’s public debut at the 1954 GM Motorama in New York. Described by Chief Designer, Ned Nichols as an “American adventure in tomorrow’s design”, the Wildcat II was considered one of the sportiest cars Buick has ever made (although, had they put it into production, the Corvette wouldn’t have been the only production American sports car). The power-plant was Buick’s 322-cid (5.3 litre) OHV Nailhead V8 with four side-draft carburetors, which boosted the standard power output of the engine from 188 to 220 horsepower, with dual exhausts protruding from the lower edge of the rear body panel. All that, and a fibreglass body with a 100-inch wheelbase, exposed underside of the mudguards which were lined with large chrome panels containing air scoop louvres, and torpedo-like guards on the front bumper. What a combination!