In 1963, Buick introduced the Riviera, its entry into the personal luxury car market, and positioned to compete with the Ford Thunderbird. Wearing an all-new design with a distinctive bodyshell that was unique to the marque. The new ‘Coke bottle design’ had a tapered mid-section with flaring fenders and mounted on a cruciform frame similar to the standard Buick frame, but narrower and shorter. The only body style offered was a sports coupe which listed for $4,330 in 1963. Standard features included a safety buzzer, Riviera wheel covers, license frame, Glare-proof inside mirror, two-speed wipers and washers, backup lights, smoking set, trip mileage odometer, bucket seats, padded instrument panel, courtesy lamps, foam-padded seat cushions, deep-pile carpet, heater and defroster, frameless side windows, and a center console. Power brakes were standard, using the company’s large ‘Al-Fin’ (for aluminum finned) drums measuring 12 inches in diameter. The power-steering system with a 20.5:1 steering ratio and 3.5 turns lock-to-lock was also standard.
The suspension was a traditional Buick setup of double wishbones in the front and a live axle located by trailing arms and a lateral track bar in the rear. Buick’s ‘Nailhead’ 401 cubic-inch V8 delivers 325 horsepower, complete with dual exhaust as standard, and the turbine drive the only transmission offered. An optional 425 cubic-inch version of the Nailhead with 340 horsepower was announced in December of 1962.
To keep the Buick Riviera exclusive, just 40,000 examples were produced for 1963. A total of 112,244 examples were built between 1963 and 1965, with 37,958 of those in 1964. Only minor trim and mechanical changes were made for the 1964 Riviera, the most distinguishable update being a raised ‘R’ hood emblem and ‘R’ emblems replacing the Buick crests in the taillight lenses. The simulated rear fender cooling vents received bright metal and a thin, bright highlight line continued to run along the bodyside crease. The twin grille with egg-crate center remained unchanged.
Changes to the interior included moving the heater controls from under the dashboard eyebrow, to slide controls located in the forward fairing of the center console. The Dynaflow-based twin-turbine transmission was dropped in favor of a new three-speed Super Turbine 400. The standard engine was now the 425 cubic-inch, overhead-valve V8, and a ‘Super Wildcat’ version was available, fitted with dual Carter AFB four-barrel carburetors and delivering 360 horsepower.
The cost of the 1964 Riviera was nearly identical to the previous year, increasing by $50 to $4,385.
The Buick Riviera received a major redesign in 1966, retaining its cruciform X-frame chassis but with a new curvaceous body that was wider, longer, and slightly heavier. The Riviera nameplate would continue to 1999, with the exception of the 1994 model year. It was built along with eight different generations and varied substantially in style and size. By the time the Riviera nameplate had been retired, over 1,127,260 examples had been produced. The name reappeared in 2007 and 2013 on two concept cars.
