Last to the Party
Those heady muscle car years from 1962 to 1970, when it seemed everybody was trying to join the power and performance ranks, saw some rare and sometimes overlooked vehicle and powertrain combinations that are largely forgotten today.
Buick, at the time, wasn’t known for performance. The General Motors mid-range luxury brand provided buyers with comfort and style and enough oomph to keep everybody happy…at least until the early 60s. Full sized sedans were getting some big inch engines including the 1962 Buick Wildcat Sport Coupe (part of the Invicta line) with a 401 cid power plant producing 325 horsepower. At 4150 pounds, the Buick fell right in line with other full-sized competitors, even offering an optional 4.45:1 rear gear for a bit more stop light street performance.
By 1963 the Wildcat became its own model, offering three versions (4-dr hardtop, sport coupe and convertible) and some updated styling enhancements, but nothing more was done for performance that year. Even with some marketing to emphasize the Wildcat’s performance pedigree, the 4-dr hardtop outsold both the sport coupe and convertible.
That same year Buick introduced the Riviera which changed the landscape for sport luxury vehicles, going head to head with Ford’s Thunderbird, but leaving little room for the Wildcat to be considered a serious performance contender.
In 1964 Buick called the Wildcat “the next best thing to the Riviera” and even ran full size back cover ads in Hot Rod Magazine to taunt the big Buick’s prowess. The Wildcat had two engine options that year in addition to the standard 325 horsepower 401, a 425 cid 340 bhp and a 360 bhp version of the same 425 cid engine. The Buick was tipping the scales at 4,500 pounds at this point and was upgraded with some suspension tweaks and an optional pos-track rear axle. Sales increased slightly even with an offering of a 4 dr sedan.
New styling marked Buick’s 1965 Wildcat with much of the new sheet metal shared with Buick’s LeSabre. Buick expanded the Wildcat line to 10 models but stuck with the drivetrain offerings of the previous year.
By 1966 the muscle car wars included both pony and mid-sized body styles stuffed with big blocks and increasing horsepower. Buick upped the ante with the Wildcat, offering a Gran Sport (GS) package that for a little under $400 would add to the 425/360 engine combo a high performance, two 4-barrel carb 380 bhp version with snazzy chrome air cleaner, cast aluminum rocker covers, dual exhaust, heavy duty suspension, posi rear end and special white or red striped 8.45 x 15 tires. The 380 bhp engine produced a stout 465 lb-ft of torque and overall sales of the Wildcat hit just under 70,000 units. But only 21 of the GS models were sold with the 380 bhp engine, making them extremely rare today.
The performance GS package lasted only one year so in 1967 Buick gave the Wildcat a new power plant which was the only one available…an all-new 430 cid, 360 bhp with 475 lb-ft torque that used a domed chamber design that made the engine a bit more efficient.
Another styling upgrade came in 1968 but the engine remained the same and stayed in place into 1969 where the Wildcat shared nearly all the LeSabre’s styling except for the grille, some wheelwell moldings and fender extension brightwork. A unique for Wildcat sport steering wheel was available, however.
1970 was the end of the line for Wildcat, but Buick decided to send it into history with another new engine…the all-new 455 cid, rated at 370 bhp and a stump pulling 510 lb-ft of torque. Production of the line had dropped to 23,619 units overall and the Wildcat disappeared in 1971.
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