#Buick centurion series

Since the 455 was available in the LeSabre series beginning in 1970, there was no longer any point in producing a middle series between the LeSabre and Electra 225. The 455 was standard equipment in '71 and '72, but the series seemed to be downgraded in '73 and the 455 became an option (350-4 engine became standard). Interiors were more luxurious than the LeSabre in '71 and '72, although the LeSabre offered comparable trim levels in '73. Buick never seemed to really advertise the series in fact, the only magazine print ad ever published for the series appeared early during the '71 model year.The Centurion was really much the same formula as the Wildcat that preceded it: Buick's largest engine (as in the Electra 225 and Riviera series) in the lightest full-size body (like the LeSabre). Only slightly more than 100,000 were built during the three years of production. You didn't want to miss out on Buick Bargain Days in 1972.The Centurion series was produced only during the 1971 - 73 model years, and was really the successor model to the Wildcat series. You can still buy reproductions of these Buick Rallye wheels today. This radio played AM and 8-track tapes and cost $363 extra on a $4,508 car (that's $2,615 and $32,485 in inflation-adjusted 2022 dollars). It would have been prohibitively expensive to make this car nice again, so here it sits. There isn't much left of the padded vinyl roof, standard equipment on all Centurion sedans and coupes. The original buyer of this Centurion probably regretted the single-digit fuel economy of the 455 when OPEC shut off the oil taps in October of 1973.įront Range Colorado isn't particularly rusty, but this car looks like it must have spent some time in a road-salty place like Wisconsin or Iowa.

All Centurions came off the assembly line with three-speed automatic transmissions.įor 1973, a Buick 350 (5.7-liter) V8 became standard Centurion equipment, with the 455 an extra-cost option. Power numbers for 1972 dropped considerably compared to 1971, mostly due to the switch from gross to net measurements that year the base '72 Centurion 455 was rated at 225 horsepower and 360 pound-feet, while an optional higher-compression version with dual exhaust made 270 hp and 390 pound-feet. The only engine available in the 19 Centurion was Buick's 455-cubic-inch (7.5-liter) V8, renowned for its low-rpm torque. In 1974, the Centurion was replaced by the LeSabre Luxus, a trim-level designation that Buick swiped from Opel. Kurt ends up selling his Centurion to a customer he 'baited' from the rival lot across the street.

Perhaps the world's best-known Centurion is the '72 convertible driven by Kurt Russel's slimy-car-salesman character in the 1980 film, Used Cars. Instead of the usual triple-shield Buick emblems, the Centurion got Roman-soldier badges. It was at heart a LeSabre with a different grille and other cosmetic touches. The Centurion was available as a hardtop coupe, a convertible, and a four-door hardtop sedan.

Just over 100,000 were built, and here's one of those rarities in a Colorado self-service boneyard. Named after a famous 1956 concept car, production of the Centurion continued just through 1973. Just as the Wildcat shoved aside the Invicta, the Centurion appeared in 1971 to replace the Wildcat. The rakish big Buick of that period was the Wildcat, built through the 1970 model year. Oldsobile had the Delta 88 Royale, for example, while Pontiac offered the Grand Prix. During the mid-to-late 1960s, General Motors made flashy, semi-sporty versions of each of its full-sized B-body cars.

Buick centurion