Buick Riviera, 1965
Buick Riviera
Buick Riviera•
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Chassis No.: 494475H940431
Auction: Monterey 2022
Auction date: August 20, 2022
Lot No.: F115
$49,500 | Sold
- Exterior: Flame Red
- Interior: White
- Original Flame Red paint and White interior
- Matching numbers 425/340 HP V-8 engine
- 4-barrel carburetor
- Magnaflow exhaust added
- 3-speed automatic transmission
- Power steering
- Original 15 inch finned drum brakes
- Hideaway headlights
- Bucket seats and center console
- Buick chrome Rally wheels
- White stripe tires
- Odometer reads 36,472 miles
- Garage kept
There is something about the look of the first-generation Buick Rivieras that remains undeniably attractive. Built on the new, exclusive-to-Riviera GM E-platform that made its debut for the 1963 model season, the remaining Rivieras today, like this 1965 example, still turn heads. Indeed, this Bill Mitchell design was heralded internationally even by other auto designers, including Jaguar’s Sir William Lyons and Italy’s Sergio Pininfarina. This garage-kept motorcar, with an odometer that reads 36,470 miles, is covered in original Flame Red paint with a gorgeous white interior, and it’s powered by a matching-numbers 425/340 HP V-8 engine.
This version uses the 4-barrel carburetor beneath its Wildcat-decaled air cleaner, and a Magnaflow exhaust has been added underneath. The engine is backed by a 3-speed automatic transmission, and the suspension includes power steering and the original 15-inch, finned drum brakes. Highlighted by stylistic R logos and script Riviera emblems, by far the most dramatic change for this final season of the initial offered were the new hideaway headlights, which were horizontally ribbed and accented the cleanly executed grille.
Inside, occupants enjoy bucket seats, a center console that seamlessly blends into the dash, vinyl-and-carpet door trim, power windows, a driver’s remote mirror, a tilt column and a console-based shifter. The car’s exterior is minimalist, with tail lamps that match the grille, narrow lower body-line chrome trim, and a set of Buick chrome Rally wheels with white-stripe tires. The following year, the car was redesigned, gaining heft that took away from the more aggressively edged sport connotation of the first three model years. This 1965 Buick Riviera represents what many still consider to be the pinnacle of that era, and this era has received Milestone status from the Milestone Car Society.
