Published: January 12, 2016, 10:55 AM
Updated: November 23, 2021, 2:51 PM
High-performance heritage
Believe it or not, Buick has built performance icons through much of its history.
▲
Avista concept car
Chances are, when you hear the name Buick you don't automatically associate it with high-performance cars. But such was not always the case. For decades, Buick built performance icons – a heritage the brand is trying to reflect if not resurrect with the introduction of its Avista luxury sports coupe concept at the 2016 North American International Auto Show.
Here are some of the models that have helped build Buick's performance-car heritage over more than a century.
▲
1909 Buick racecar
Not just on-the-road performance but racing is a big part of Buick's DNA, dating back to the early days of the brand, which was founded in 1903. In 1909 – two years before the first Indianapolis 500 – the 2.5-mile-long Indianapolis Speedway was inaugurated with a 250-mile race that was won by Bob Burman, driving a stripped down chassis with a powerful Buick engine. He averaged more than 53 mph (85 km/h), an impressive speed for the day and that distance. Of the nine cars that finished the race, three of them were Buick models, helping the brand establish its reputation for durability.
▲
1910 Buick 60 Special “Bug”
The 60 Special, or "Bug," was built by the Buick racing team and had a unique nosecone – a feature designed more for aesthetics than aerodynamics. A huge 622 cubic-inch (10.2-litre) four-cylinder engine propelled the Bug to an outrageous top speed of 110 mph 9177 km/h). Buick built two 60 Special race cars, one for Burman, and a second for another racer by the name of Louis Chevrolet.
▲
1938 Buick Century
What Buick learned from those early racing experiences was channeled into its production cars, particularly its advanced-for-the-time overhead-valve engines. It introduced straight-eight engines in 1931, but it was the 1938 Century model that set a new performance benchmark. Dubbed Dynaflash 8, the 320 cubic-inch (5.2-litre) straight-eight featured domed pistons that contributed to an 11-hp increase over its immediate predecessor – enough to push the big car past the “century mark” to 103 mph (166 km/h). Hence the Century name, which survived for almost 70 years, although its origins wee long forgotten except for historians.
▲
1954 Buick Wildcat II concept
The Buick V-8 engine – nicknamed the Nailhead V-8 for its unique valve arrangement and small valve diameters – was introduced in 1953 and powered the Wildcat II concept vehicle a year later. Using a quartet of sidedraft carburetors, engineers coaxed 10% more power from the engine than regular-production models, giving the car the power to back up its sporty styling. Through that era, the Century remained Buick's performance model, combining the brand's big Roadmaster engine with the smallerbody used for the Special model.
▲
1963 Buick Special
In 1961, the Special name was transferred to an all-new mid-size model line that also introduced an innovative, lightweight all-aluminum V-8 engine. Displacing just 215 cubic inches (3.5 litres), it was the lightest V-8 then in production, achieving an admirably high power density (power to weight). The engine reached its development peak in the 1963 Special with a 200-hp output that gave it an impressive specific power ratio of 0.93:1 horsepower/litre. Unfortunately, General Motors quickly gave up on the engine, replacing it with a cast iron V-6 and selling the design and dies to Rover, which kept it alive for four more decades.
▲
Mickey Thompson Buick Indy Car
Given its light weight and ample output, that engine quickly became popular among racers. It was used most famously, in modified form, in the rear-engined 1962-63 Indy cars of Land Speed Record racer Mickey Thompson. Nicknamed "roller skates", because of their then unusual layout and small diameter tires, they were at the forefront of the revolution in Indy car design. Buick-engined cars continued to be entered in the Indianapolis 500 for several years.
▲
1970 Buick GSX
At the height of the muscle car wars, torque was king and no competitor claimed more than the 510 lb-ft (678 Nm) of twist generated by the GSX’s available 455 Stage I V-8 engine. In a 1970 road test, Motor Trend achieved 0-to 60 mph (0-to-97 km/h) in 5.5 seconds and covered the quarter-mile in 13.4 seconds – notable numbers for the time.
▲
1976 Buick Century Indianapolis 500 Pace Car
Buick's dalliance with turbocharging began with this purposeful pace car for the 1976 Indianapolis 500. Engineers leveraged the then recently revived, more-efficient 231 cubic inches (3.8-litreV-6) engine that was replacing larger V-8 engines in many production models. They pumped it up with 22 pounds of boost, resulting in a peak output of 306 horsepower from the little V-6.
▲
1984 Buick/March IndyCar
Just a few years later, that turbocharged V-6 had graduated from pacing the Indianapolis 500 to racing in it. In 1984, driver Scott Brayton drove his Buick-powered March race car to a 204.638-mph one-lap speed and a 203.637-mph four-lap average, setting new records for a car with a production-spec engine block. By the mid-1990s, a more powerful version of the Buick turbo V-6 helped Eddie Cheever turned the fastest race lap ever at the Brickyard: 236.103 mph during the 1996 Indy 500. It’s a record that still stands.
▲
1987 Buick GNX
During the resurgence of high-performance in the 1980s, Buick ditched the conventional V-8 playbook and continued to cultivate its turbo V-6 program, which reached its zenith in the Grand National. Buick marked the end of the car’s production in 1987 with the limited-production GNX – a Grand National on steroids. With a larger turbocharger, it was rated at 276-horsepower and featured all-black attire. Only 547 were built and they became instant collectibles.
▲
2012 Regal GS
In 2012, the GS returned to Buick’s lineup and advanced its turbocharging heritage with one of the most sophisticated and power-dense engines in its segment – a 270-hp 2.0L delivering 135 hp/litre. It also reintroduced a manual transmission, which helped the 2012 Regal GS make collector car insurer Hagerty’s list of the 10 most collectible Buick models of all time.
▲
Avista concept car
According to Buick, that legacy of performance, along with the levels of luxury and refinement for which the band has always been known, are both combined in the Avista luxury sport concept car just introduced at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. It's a contemporary grand tourer with a 400-horsepower, twin-turbocharged V-6 driving the rear wheels and a driver-focused cockpit offering a comfortable, connected control centre – a fitting descendant of Buick's high-performance heritage. And beautiful to boot!
▲
null