The 1971 boat-tail Riviera (CC here) origin myth has it that it was based on a rendering by John Houlihan, scaled for the mid-sized A-Special body, like the Pontiac GP. That rendering is below, and it clearly shows a lot of resemblance to the final and larger E-Body Riviera. But then I ran across this Riviera concept at glen.h’s collection, and it’s quite different than Houlihan’s rendering. And it’s lacking the distinctive pointy boat-tail. But it does have the Sting Ray rear window, and the distinctive side sculpting.
Here’s the Houlihan sketch that supposedly launched the ’71 Riviera, to satisfy Bill Mitchell who wasn’t exactly content at not having a car in production without the signature Sting Ray fastback. Can’t have that…
There’s no question that Houlihan’s front end is very much what was adopted for the production Riviera.
This Advanced Design model is totally different in the front. Which raises the question: were there older ideas floating around for the ’71 Riviera? Or just alternatives? Another interesting point: this one is clearly labeled “E Body”. And it has Graham Bell’s name on it, who was Assistant Chief Designer, GM Design until 1974, when he moved to Ford. Let’s keep us guessing….
Pontiac?
It’s labeled an E-body and the Buick tri-shield on the podium are a giveaway. This looks more like an enlarged 2nd gen F-body, especially in the C-pillar area, the F-bods did get a wraparound rear window that looked close to this in 1975
I would agree. That greenhouse says F body to me fairly strongly. And other than the front overhang, the car looks fairly petite.
That’s what I was thinking an up level Firebird or new GP or something.
I remember reading that the original proposal for the second-generation Camaro-Firebird featured the wraparound rear window, but, for whatever reason, it was not added to the car until the 1975 model year.
I also remember reading that Oldsmobile wanted a version of the 1967 Camaro and Firebird, but GM brass refused to give it one. I haven’t read whether it even progressed to the sketch stage.
I have never read that Buick ever expressed any interest in having its version of the F-body.
My thought as well, a Buick F-body. The Buick Firehawk?
I read somewhere that there was a fiberglass 2 seater version that was the 1971 Buick Riviera that housed a lighter 455 fuel jected engine However it was crushed after it beat the Corvette ben looking for photos of that car if anyone has them
Hi just wondering if there are any pic,s or information on the clay bucks or models they made did any photo,s come up regarding Daniel Tuckers question Thanks Allan
I’m thankful the end result is as stunning as it is. I was blessed to have a ’71 for a DD for a few years… I’d still own it if it wasn’t Bamboo Cream. It was one of the “baddest” cars I’ve ever owned and aside from the color, was a work of art.
The entire time I owned it, I’d regularly walk around it admiring its lines or sit behind the wheel & admire its gigantic dash. Being a fast quiet car sweetened the deal. Man, that thing would fly….
Jealous. Hands-down my favourite GM car of the ’70s.
It definitely has the F-body look. It’s probably an alternative, maybe earlier than Houlihan’s chosen one. They must have done a lot of sharing between studios, because it looks like this was either influenced by, or was borrowed for, the F-bodies that came to be. In front 3/4 view, it also reminds me of the much older 1950s Firebird concept cars. A bit wild for the personal luxury E-body, don’t you think, but then again, so was the production Riviera!
Tough to tell which is which, since this is in the Advanced studio, I imagine that this was probably done around 1967, the 1971 B and C bodies were in the same stage around this time, I wonder when the 2nd gen F-body was in Advanced?
Could be the same styling team worked on both, you see that when common themes come up in different cars.
The front 3/4 view sure looks Virgil Exner-esque….
Almost looks like the front end was a nod to the ’51 LeSabre concept.
Here are some actual F-body concepts for comparison. Some similarities, but definitely smaller.
http://deansgarage.com/2012/1970-71-f-body-concept-advanced-pontiac-studio/
I agree. It has similarities to the F Body, but it reads decidedly “larger” to me.
My eye keeps getting drawn to the “Advanced Design” sign in oh so dated “computer” font.
It’s clearly marked E-Body, with a Buick logo on the pedestal. It would be very hard to conclude anything other than that it was a Riviera concept. I see a lot of Centurion in the rear deck planes. No doubt it’s a stop on the road to the boattail.