A twin-turbo Riviera convertible tuned to 410 hp paced the 1983 Indianapolis 500, more than double the production S-Type's output.
Lead trim: Riviera Oldsmobile 350 diesel V8 (105 hp, through 1985) · up to 185 hp
Buick Riviera1979–1985
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Nobody in Burbles has spotted a Buick Riviera 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.
FactA twin-turbo Riviera convertible tuned to 410 hp paced the 1983 Indianapolis 500, more than double the production S-Type's output.
Buick presented the 1979 model year front-wheel-drive Riviera, its first front-drive production model, built on a 114 in wheelbase and again sharing its mechanical design and platform with the Cadillac Eldorado and Oldsmobile Toronado (206.0 in long, 72.8 in wide). The Olds 403 and Buick 350 were dropped but the Olds 350 remained, as did a new turbocharged Buick 231 cu in (3.8 L) V6 with 185 hp, installed in the Riviera S-Type shared with the Regal Sport Coupe turbo for 1980. The Riviera became Motor Trend's Car of the Year and sales more than doubled to 52,181 for 1979. In 1981 the Turbo was renamed T-Type and the 350 gave way to the Oldsmobile-built 307 cu in (5.0 L) with 140 hp (phased in during 1980 and 150 hp net from 1982 through 1985), the standard engine was now Buick's 125 hp 252 cu in (4.1 L) V6 and an Oldsmobile diesel with a mere 105 hp was offered through 1985. 1982 brought the first Riviera convertible (US$23,944); a twin-turbocharged convertible tuned to 410 hp was the 1983 Indianapolis 500 pace car, and a special edition of 500 "Riviera XX" (502 built) celebrated twenty years of the Riviera in 1983. Sales reached 65,305 for 1985.
Collectors Spotted in the Buick Riviera Lineage
No member has published a public street spot of the Buick Riviera yet — the First · Worldwide stamp is wide open.
Trims & Figures
4 published trims in the catalogue. A blank is a figure not recorded, not zero.
| Trim | Years | Engine | Power | Torque | 0–60 | Drive | Gearbox | MSRP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Riviera 252 cu in Buick V6 (125 hp, 1981) | 1981–1981 | 4.1 L V6 | 125 hp | 205 lb-ft | — | FWD | — | — |
| Riviera 307 cu in Oldsmobile V8 (140 hp, from 1980/81) | 1980–1981 | 5.0 L V8 | 140 hp | 250 lb-ft | — | FWD | — | — |
| Riviera Oldsmobile 350 diesel V8 (105 hp, through 1985) | 1981–1985 | 5.7 L V8 | 105 hp | 205 lb-ft | — | FWD | — | — |
| Riviera S-Type 231 cu in Turbocharged Buick V6 (185 hp, 1980) | 1980–1980 | 3.8 L V6 | 185 hp | — | — | FWD | — | — |
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
Buick skipped the 1994 model year entirely before bringing the Riviera back redesigned for 1995.
GM shrank the Riviera to a 108-inch wheelbase for 1986, then had to stretch it back out again by 1989.
The special grille from the limited 1983 "Riviera XX" 20th-anniversary edition - with 24-karat gold badging - became a standard part of the 1984 facelift.
A twin-turbo Riviera convertible tuned to 410 hp paced the 1983 Indianapolis 500, more than double the production S-Type's output.
The Riviera had ridden on the same E-body platform since 1963, but for 1977 and 1978 only, Buick shrank it onto GM's new, smaller B platform.
This Riviera introduced two high-mounted taillights above the trunk, below the rear window — a quirk shared with its Toronado platform twin that anticipated a feature later made a federal mandate.
Buyers found the Riviera's boat-tail look too radical, so for 1973 GM blunted the deck lid and shortened it — the Stage One cars that followed wore the toned-down tail.
The dramatic boat-tail Riviera wasn't designed for the big body it got. GM's stylists built it to fit the smaller A-body platform; management decided late to stretch it onto the full-size B-body instead.
Both the Riviera's E-body siblings, the Toronado and Eldorado, switched to front-wheel drive — Buick alone kept the Riviera rear-wheel drive.
1965 was the year the Riviera's Gran Sport debuted — its Super Wildcat V8 ran twin four-barrel carburetors just to hit 360 horsepower.
Buick deliberately capped first-gen Riviera production at 40,000 a year — in a year it sold 440,000 cars overall — just to keep the Riviera feeling exclusive.
Rivals
Same body, same money, other badges — tap any card to flip.
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