Buick Wildcat

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Buick Wildcat
Manufacturer	General Motors
Production	1963-1970
Predecessor	Buick Invicta
Successor	Buick Centurion
Class	Full-size
Body style	2-door hardtop 2-door convertible 4-door hardtop 4-door sedan
Platform	FR B-body
Similar	Mercury Marauder Chrysler 300

The Buick Wildcat was a full-size automobile produced by the Buick Division of General Motors from 1962 to 1970. For its first year, the Wildcat was a 'sub-model' within the Buick Invicta series, mating the smaller full-size two-door hardtop Buick body (known as the "sport coupe," body production code 4647) with a high-performance 325-horsepower version of the 401ci Nailhead V8, known as the Wildcat 445 for producing 445 ft·lbf of torque. To further distance itself from the Invicta, the Wildcat also included a bucket seat interior, a center console with tachometer and transmission shifter (TurbineDrive automatic), special exterior side trim, vinyl-covered roof, and its own unique emblem: a stylized head of a wild cat, located on each of the C-pillars. However, the Wildcat did share the LeSabre's and Invicta's trio of portholes on the front fenders, a design cue lasting only through the 1963 model year.

From 1963 to 1970 the Wildcat was its own series, no longer a subseries of the Invicta. Wildcats built starting in the 1964 model year did not have the traditional portholes, but instead had chrome hash-marks on the lower front quarter panel immediately behind the front wheel housings. Upon becoming its own full series in 1963, the Wildcat added a convertible and four-door hardtop sedan to the original two-door hardtop coupe introduced the previous year. In the four-door version, a bench seat was standard but the bucket seat and console interior used in the coupe and convertible were optional. For 1964, a pillared four-door sedan was added to the line and two levels of trim were available - standard and Custom, with a mid-line Deluxe subseries added for 1965 only. From 1965 to 1969, the base (with trim similar to the '65 Wildcat Deluxe) and Custom trims were again the sole options.

The 325 horsepower 401 cubic-inch V8 remained the standard Wildcat engine through 1966. From 1964 to 1966 a larger 425 cubic-inch Super Wildcat V8 was available in a 340-horsepower version with four-barrel carburetor or a 360-horsepower option with dual quads (two four-barrel carburetors). Also, beginning in 1964, a three-speed manual transmission with column shift became standard equipment on all Wildcats with a four-speed manual (1963-65 only) or three-speed Super Turbine 400 automatic transmission optional. In 1966, there was a one-year only Wildcat GS (Gran Sport) option that included the 340-horsepower 425 V8, heavy-duty suspension and performance rear axle along with "GS" emblems.

The year 1967 brought an all new engine to the Wildcat line (along with the Riviera and Electra 225) - a 430 cubic inch V8 with four-barrel carburetor and 360 horsepower rating that featured larger valves for better breathing than the previous 401/425 nailhead design that dated back to Buick's first V8 in 1953. The 430 was relatively short-lived as it was only offered through the 1969 model year. For 1970, the 430 was superseded by the largest Buick V8 engine ever - a 455 cubic-inch engine that was basically a bored and stroked version of the previous engine with the same large valve design and a horsepower rating of 370, and torque rating of more than 500 pounds.

The Wildcat, offered only in Custom trim for the final year of 1970, line was superseded by the Buick Centurion in 1971.

[edit] Wildcat concept cars

Buick has used the name Wildcat for five concept vehicles, three in the early 1950s, one in 1985 and another in 1997. The 1953 Wildcat I [1], 1954 Wildcat II[2] and 1955 Wildcat III were all designed under the guidance of Harley Earl. The I and II still exist today.

The 1985 Wildcat was a radical mid-engined, all-wheel-drive sports car with an exposed high-performance, double-overhead cam V-6. The chassis was built of carbon-fiber and vinyl-ester resin and the body featured a 'lift-up' canopy for entry/exit. This futuristic vehicle is still owned by Buick today, and is still operational.

In 1997, Buick made a Riviera Wildcat concept car. This car had carbon fiber instead of woodgrain trim inside and black chrome outside and its engine was modified.

	Buick road car timeline, 1940s-1980s  v • d • e																																								Next ->
Type	1940s				1950s										1960s										1970s										1980s
	6	7	8	9	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
Subcompact																														Skyhawk							Skyhawk
Compact																												Apollo			Skylark
Mid-size																Special												Century
																Skylark												Regal
Full-size	Special													LeSabre
									Century					Invicta				Wildcat								Centurion														Electra
	Roadmaster													Electra																										Electra Estate
Personal luxury																		Riviera