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Built from 1963 to 1965, the original Buick Riviera is arguably one of the best as we discuss in this retro review of the legendary nameplate.
Thunderbird Competitor
Back in the late 1950s, Ford debuted the legendary Thunderbird and with it, a new “personal luxury car” segment. As sales soared, General Motors naturally took notice and set to creating a T-bird competitor. What followed was the birth of an equally legendary nameplate, the Buick Riviera. With knock-out styling, thumping Wildcat V8 power plants, and serious handling chops, the Riviera was one cool car.
Today, we’ll be looking back on the first-generation Riviera that was produced between 1963 and 1965. Prior to this standalone status, the Riviera name had been applied as a high-end trim line to Buicks from the ‘40s and ‘50s. But when GM styling chief Bill Mitchell returned from a trip to London, he had a vision for a vehicle with the luxury of a T-bird, but the performance of a European import.
A Cadillac Becomes a Buick
Bill Mitchell is a famous name in the halls of GM as he is credited with designing the Corvette between 1961 and 1976, the Camaro from 1970 to 1981, and of course the Riviera – both first- and second-gen models. On his trip to London for the Earls Court Motor Show, the story goes that he set eyes on a custom-bodied Rolls-Royce with dramatic “knife-edge” styling. Upon return to Detroit, he set his design team to work on a T-bird competitor with the looks of that special Rolls.
Ned Nickles is responsible for penning the design of what was originally supposed to be a top-spec Cadillac. Bringing back the LaSalle nameplate, this angular concept car had concealed headlights and a two-door hardtop – or pillarless – body. Cadillac ended up passing on the car, which left the rest of GM’s many divisions to compete for ownership.
There was no shortage of projects across the GM portfolio with Chevy focused on Nova production and Oldsmobile working on its 442 muscle car. Ultimately, Buick won the LaSalle concept contest and brought the Riviera to fruition.
The 1963 Buick Riviera
The LaSalle name gave way to Riviera Silver Arrow with the Silver Arrow portion later dropped. 1963 marked the first year of Riviera production with styling that hewed closely to the concept car sans the hidden headlights. The look was exclusive to Buick, which was an unusual scenario for General Motors where badge engineering reigned supreme.
To ensure the new Riviera was up to snuff performance-wise, it rode on a standard Buick chassis that was nearly 8 inches shorter than the LeSabre of the time. It was also almost 400 pounds lighter. Double front wishbones and a live rear axle were typical Buick running gear at the time, but the Riviera dialed up the sporting intentions with trailing arms and a lateral track bar out back.
On top of that, the power-assisted steering was notably direct, needing just 3 ½ turns to go lock-to-lock. And stopping power was provided by relatively large 12-inch “Al Fin” aluminum finned drum brakes. But it was under the long front hood where things really got interesting.
Wildcat Power
A standard 6.6L Wildcat V8 provided motivation with 325 horsepower, a Twin Turbine Dynaflow transmission, and a dual exhaust system. Optionally, buyers could score a 7.0L Wildcat variant cranked up to 340 hp. In either case, the Riviera was a beast, reportedly able to clock 8 seconds flat in the 0 to 60 mph sprint and a 16-second quarter mile. For more on the history of Buick’s Wildcat powertrain and car, check out this retro review.
Style in Spades
Sporting a new “Coke bottle” look with a tapered midsection and flared fenders, the Riviera had the style to go with the power and handling. It featured quad headlights, a pair of faux rear fender scoops, and those distinctive sharp front fenders. The cabin was set up with dual front buckets and a rear bench converted to seat just two.
Vinyl upholstery was standard, but options included cloth or leather, genuine walnut accents, power windows, air-conditioning, “Electro-Cruise” cruise control, remote-controlled side mirrors, and whitewall tires with wire wheels. All of which stickered at $4,333 to start.
In its first year of production, the 1963 Buick Riviera sold exactly 40,000 copies, which was by design. The automaker sold over 400,000 total vehicles that year, but deliberately limited Riviera production to create exclusivity and drive-up demand.
T-Bird Spells Fun, Fun, Fun
The following year, Riviera sales slipped to less than 38,000, but it was the same year that The Beach Boys “Fun, Fun, Fun” song hit the radio. A runaway hit, that song prominently features the Ford Thunderbird in the lyrics. No surprise that T-bird sales shot from a little more than 63,000 in 1963 to more than 92,000 in 1964. That didn’t lessen the excellence of the Riviera, but it sure was hard to step outside the T-bird’s shadow at the time and even today to some degree.
It’s worth noting that the 1964 Buick Riviera was one of TWENTY-SIX models offered by the automaker that year. This included everything from 4-door sedans and hardtops to station wagons, convertibles, and coupes. And that’s just for Buick, so one could argue the Riviera had a whole lot of competition amongst itself and the General Motors portfolio as a whole.
In 1964, Buick made the previously optional 7.0L Super Wildcat V8 standard equipment on the Riviera. The new option was a 360-horse variant of this motor breathing through a pair of 4-barrel carbs. It must be said – that is a serious motor. The Dynaflow was dropped for 1964 and replaced by a Super Turbine 400 3-speed automatic that continued to route power to the rear wheels.
The Gran Sport
For the final year of first-gen production, 1965, Buick reverted to fitting the 6.6L V8 as standard equipment. In a nod to the concept vehicle, the 1965 Riviera received vertically arranged headlights hidden behind clamshell-style front fender shields. It also dropped the non-functional side scoops and saw the taillights move from the body into the rear bumper.
But the biggest news of 1965 was a new optional Gran Sport variant of the Riviera. Sporting the most potent 7.0L Super Wildcat powertrain with a pair of 625 CFM carburetors, this performance model churned the torque output up to 465 pound-feet. It also boasted an exclusive distributor, a more aggressive Posi-Traction 3.42 rear axle, and a wider diameter dual exhaust system that was redesigned to reduce back pressure.
Adding an optional ride and handling package to the Gran Sport brought heavy-duty springs and dampers, rear track bar bushings, a lowered suspension, and faster steering. The Riviera Gran Sport was one of several Buicks in the 1960s, and beyond, with a nameplate used by the automaker to compete in Detroit’s muscle car wars.
Riviera Legacy
Buick would continue to build the Riviera well past 1965 with production spanning 8 generations and 36 years. All of them have their merits, but sometimes it’s the original that does it best as evidenced by several automotive luminaries. Jaguar founder Sir William Lyons is quoted as saying that Bill Mitchell did “a very wonderful job” with the first-gen Riviera and Sergio Pininfarina called it “one of the most beautiful American cars ever built”.
As the Riviera nameplate came to an end in 1999, Buick created a final limited edition run of 200 cars with silver paint and trim. This Silver Arrow model called all the way back to the concept car from the early 1960s, making it a fitting send-off to a legendary Buick.
My 1985 Riviera was hands down my favorite car. Midnight blue, with midnight velour interior and a double red pin stripe. The epitome of class. Full digital dash, Moonroof, every conceivable option. The car cost 35k when I purchased it in new in 85. The riviera got small the next year and was never quite the same. Those whitewall tires from Dunlop with Elite emblazoned on each tire. What a love affair. Thanks for the memory.
Frank you’re right that was Avery nice car I had a 64 and I wish I could find it .It was the best thing I ever owned.My opinion the Riviera of any year would beat out any Cadillac built hands down