Buick quietly offered factory airbags on this LeSabre decades before they were common — a rarely-ordered option dropped after 1976 for lack of interest.
Lead trim: LeSabre 350 cu in Buick V8
Buick LeSabre1971–1976
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Nobody in Burbles has spotted a Buick LeSabre yet. See one on the street, point the app at it, and the first card is yours — with your @handle permanently credited on this page.
FactBuick quietly offered factory airbags on this LeSabre decades before they were common — a rarely-ordered option dropped after 1976 for lack of interest.
Like the other GM divisions, Buick completely restyled its B- and C-body cars for 1971: the full-size cars emerged larger and heavier, with curved bodysides, long hoods and wide expanses of glass (similar to Chrysler's 1969 full-size cars but with a lower beltline), semi-fastback rooflines on two-door hardtop coupes and convertibles with a new top design to permit a full-width rear seat. Wheelbase 124 in, length 221.9 in. The same 350 and 455 V8s were carried over with lowered compression ratios so that low-lead or unleaded gasoline could be used under a General Motors corporate mandate; variable-ratio power steering and power front disc brakes became standard on all LeSabres at the start of 1971 and, in March, the Turbo Hydramatic became standard equipment (and all Buick LeSabres would remain so equipped in base form until the nameplate's final year in 2005). The engine list for the generation includes a 231 cu in (3.8 L) Buick V6, and the LeSabre 455 model line was dropped for 1971. For 1972 there were a revised grille and taillights, a one-year-only 2.5 mph front bumper and a revised flow-through ventilation system.
Collectors Spotted in the Buick LeSabre Lineage
No member has published a public street spot of the Buick LeSabre yet — the First · Worldwide stamp is wide open.
Trims & Figures
2 published trims in the catalogue. A blank is a figure not recorded, not zero.
| Trim | Years | Engine | Power | Torque | 0–60 | Drive | Gearbox | MSRP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LeSabre 350 cu in Buick V8 | 1971–1976 | 5.7 L V8 | — | — | — | RWD | — | — |
| LeSabre 455 cu in Buick V8 | 1971–1976 | 7.5 L V8 | — | — | — | RWD | — | — |
Owning one
We don’t estimate running costs for a car like this. What it costs depends on its condition, its specialist and how it is driven, and an average would mislead.
Owners’ builds
Nobody has claimed one yet.
Photographs
GM shrank the last LeSabre's footprint yet found more trunk space than the model it replaced.
Buick cut the two-door LeSabre entirely for 1992, leaving the nameplate a sedan-only affair for good.
For one year only, Buick built a LeSabre Grand National coupe just to legalize its smaller quarter-window body style for NASCAR racing.
GM's 1977 downsizing shrank the LeSabre's footprint, yet somehow headroom, rear legroom and trunk space all grew over the bigger 1976 model.
Buick quietly offered factory airbags on this LeSabre decades before they were common — a rarely-ordered option dropped after 1976 for lack of interest.
For 1970 Buick slotted a thundering 370-horsepower 455 cubic-inch V8 into the otherwise ordinary LeSabre — wrapped in the same trim as the regular Custom.
Checking the "400" box on a LeSabre didn’t just buy a bigger four-barrel V8 — it also swapped in the three-speed Super Turbine automatic otherwise reserved for Buick’s much bigger Wildcat, Electra 225 and Riviera.
The platform under this LeSabre is one of the best-selling car platforms ever built — GM's 1965-70 B-body ranks behind only the Beetle, the Model T, and the Lada Riva.
This LeSabre's wagon version came with its own named interior material straight from the factory: a vinyl called "Cordaveen," standard equipment nowhere else in the lineup.
One first-generation LeSabre ended up owned by African royalty: a 1959 example once belonged to Sobhuza II, King of Swaziland, and now sits on display at his memorial park.
Rivals
Same body, same money, other badges — tap any card to flip.
It briefly served as senior sibling to Marquette, a GM companion brand cancelled after just one year.
Nissan hired former BMW engineers to help develop the 510's suspension, which is why period reviewers frequently compared its handling to the BMW 1600/2002.
A Trabant 601 won its class at the 1970 Monte Carlo Rally, with a second 601 right behind it in second.
The 600 was a stopgap: the P50's body over the 601's mechanicals, and for a while its estate was built alongside the new 601 saloon.
The G80 Sport brought a 370 PS twin-turbo 3.3 V6, a mesh grille and copper-tinted chrome with copper stitching to match.
The Vigor was sold only with a five-cylinder engine, an unusual configuration Honda used to fit a longer engine transversely under a short hood.
The GS/E coupe earned the nickname "German Charger" for its long hood, short deck stance borrowed from Detroit muscle cars.
This DeVille/Fleetwood was the first production car anywhere to mount its V8 sideways, Cadillac's front-drive gamble on the new C-body.