In 1963, General Motors made its first appearance in the personal luxury car market with the Buick Riviera, which now turns 60 years old in 2023.
After witnessing the success of the Ford Thunderbird, General Motors decided they were ready for a piece of the action, with a slightly European flavour.
The car was thought to be inspired by the then GM styling chief Bill Mitchell's visit to London and his first-hand exposure to Rolls-Royces and so a cutting-edge design was sought with the help of Ned Nickles.
The result was a car considered to be high up in the American car design world, similar in many ways to the Studebaker Avanti, and it drew positive responses from the likes of Sir William Lyons of Jaguar and even Sergio Pininfarina.
The Buick Riviera was marketed from 1963 to 1999, missing only the 1994 model year. The Riviera was built on a new GM E platform and received many plaudits after its high-profile debut.
It was initially a front-engined/rear-wheel drive, only switching to front-wheel drive in 1979. Over the years, a total of 1,127,261 Rivieras were produced with eight generations varying in size and style. The early models, however, remained close to their original design.
The name was used again for two concept cars in 2007 and 2013 that were displayed at auto shows. The Riviera name, taken from the Italian meaning for coastline, was chosen to create the image and affluence of the French Riviera. The name was first used in 1949 for the Buick Roadmaster Riviera coupe.
The 1971-1972 Riviera "Boat-Tail" is probably the most legendary Riviera, if not one of the best-known Buicks. The design was led by Bill Mitchell, who looked to combine several classic shapes to create an eccentric and striking new coupe, but it is the original 1963 version that we salute today on a 60th anniversary.
