Buick Wildcat
| Buick Wildcat | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Overview | |
| Manufacturer | Buick (General Motors) |
| Production | 1963–1970 |
| Body and chassis | |
| Class | Full-size car |
| Body style | 2-door hardtop 2-door convertible 4-door hardtop 4-door sedan |
| Layout | FR layout |
| Platform | B-body |
| Chronology | |
| Predecessor | Buick Invicta |
| Successor | Buick Centurion |
| First Generation | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Overview | |
| Model years | 1963–1964 |
| Body and chassis | |
| Body style | 2-door hardtop 2-door convertible 4-door hardtop 4-door sedan |
| Layout | FR layout |
| Powertrain | |
| Engine | 401 cu in (6.6 L) Nailhead V8 425 cu in (7.0 L) Nailhead V8 |
| Transmission |
Dynaflow automatic 3-speed TH-400 automatic 3-speed manual 4-speed manual |
| Dimensions | |
| Wheelbase | 123" |
| Length | 215.7" |
| Second Generation | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Overview | |
| Model years | 1965–1970 |
| Body and chassis | |
| Body style | 2-door hardtop 2-door convertible 4-door hardtop 4-door sedan |
| Layout | FR layout |
| Powertrain | |
| Engine | 425 cu in (7.0 L) Nailhead V8 430 cu in (7.0 L) BuickV8 455 cu in (7.5 L) Buick V8 |
| Transmission | 3-speed TH-400 automatic 3-speed manual |
The Buick Wildcat was a full-sized automobile that was produced by Buick from 1962 to 1970. It took its name from a fiberglass-bodied 1953 concept car.
In 1962 the Wildcat was a Buick Invicta subseries, mating the Invicta's longer full-size two-door hardtop Buick body (known as the "sport coupe," body production code 4647) with a high-performance 325 hp (242 kW) version of the 401 cu in (7 l) Nailhead V8, known as the Wildcat 445 for producing 445 lb·ft (603 N·m) of torque. To further distance itself from the Invicta, the Wildcat had Electra 225-like taillights, a bucket seat interior, a center console with tachometer and transmission shifter. It had the famous Dynaflow transmission shared by all full-sized Buicks, plus special exterior side trim, vinyl-covered roof (new for 1962), 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 VentiPorts 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 an Invicta subseries. The 1963 model had a large aluminum trim panel on the side of the body that seemed to compete directly with the Oldsmobile Starfire, another full-size "sporty" model by GM. Wildcats built in the 1964 model year did not have the traditional horizontal VentiPorts like other Buicks, but instead had vertically situated chrome hash-marks on the lower front quarter panel directly behind the front wheel housings. After 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 in 1962. 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. In 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 sub-series added for 1965 only. From 1966 to 1969, the base (with trim similar to the '65 Wildcat Deluxe) and Custom trims were again the sole options.
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Wikipedia