Buick Centurion

Buick does not build many cars like the Buick Centurion: a 2-door coupe / 4-door hardtop / 2-door convertible with 350 CID V8, built from 1971 as the oil crises and the first emissions rules rewired the industry.

The story

The Buick Centurion is a full-size car built from the 1971 through 1973 model years. Replacing the Wildcat as the sporty iteration of Buick's three full-size car lines, it was positioned between the LeSabre and Electra in the lineup.

The Centurion name was inspired by a Buick concept car, the name coming from that of an officer in the Roman Army. The car's emblem was not the traditional Buick tri-shield, but a side profile of a centurion. The Centurion shared a trim package implementation shared with the Chevrolet Caprice, Pontiac Grand Ville and the Oldsmobile Delta 88 Royale as a hardtop coupe, sedan and convertible.

What is underneath

Under the skin sits 350 CID V8; other versions carried different engines, listed in the specification table below. Kerb weight is 4260 -. The gearbox is a 3-speed automatic. The layout matters: a front engine drives the rear wheels, the classic proportion — long bonnet, cabin set back — that most people picture when they picture a sports saloon or a grand tourer. The wheelbase is 124 in. These are manufacturer figures carried by Wikipedia and Wikidata, not road-test measurements.

Its place in the line

Where it sits in Buick's history is not in doubt: the Buick Wildcat came before it; it was built at Flint, Michigan, USA. On a showroom list of its day it stood against the Renault 5, the American Motors Corporation AMC Gremlin, the Suzuki Jimny. Nearby in the Buick catalogue sit the Buick First Call and the Buick Funeral Car.

The money

MotorJury scores cars on the United States complaint and recall record, and the Buick Centurion has none: too old, too rare, or never sold there. Its value today is a collector's question, decided by provenance and condition rather than by a class average.