Buick Riviera History
GM's first personal-luxury car — a landmark 1963 coupe that ran eight generations through 1999.
Photo: “Rockville Antique And Classic Car Show 2016 (30323230541).jpg” by S Pakhrin from DC, USA / Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY 2.0
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The Riviera launched for 1963 as General Motors' first entry into the personal-luxury segment, a ground-up design on the new GM E-body platform. Its crisp, knife-edged styling — led by Bill Mitchell's design studio — was widely praised, and unlike its later E-body siblings (the Oldsmobile Toronado and Cadillac Eldorado) the early Riviera was front-engine, rear-wheel drive.
Across eight generations the car swung through several styling eras, including the dramatic 'boattail' fastback of 1971–1973. It switched to front-wheel drive for the 1979 model year and was sharply downsized through the 1980s.
The final, eighth-generation Riviera (1995–1999) returned to a large, flowing two-door form, available with a supercharged 3.8-liter V6. Production ended on November 25, 1998; the 1999 model year was its last, closing a run of roughly 1.13 million cars.
Generations
First generation · 1963–1965 E-body
Photo: “Rockville Antique And Classic Car Show 2016 (30323230541).jpg” by S Pakhrin from DC, USA / Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY 2.0
The landmark original — GM's first personal-luxury car, a clean rear-drive E-body coupe that earned wide critical acclaim.
Third generation · 'Boattail'
The dramatic boattail-fastback Riviera, one of the most distinctive American designs of the early 1970s.
Eighth generation
The flowing final Riviera, offered with a supercharged 3.8-liter V6; production ended in late 1998.
Body styles
- Coupe
- Convertible
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