Buick Centurion Classic Cars for Sale

The Buick Centurion was a short-lived full-size car by the American automobile manufacturer. Produced only between 1971 and 1973, it was available in hardtop, coupé and convertible formats. Unusually for the marque, its badge was a centurion's helmet, not the usual Buick shield.

The Buick Centurion in its early days

Although the name "Centurion" had first appeared on a 1956 concept car, Buick's production model was far more conventional. Intended to replace the Wildcat, it differed only slightly from the Buick LeSabre; the two cars were on the market simultaneously. The Buick Centurion lacked certain features common to most large Buicks, such as VentiPort ventilation and extensive chrome trim. Especially in coupé format, the car also had styling similarities with the Chevrolet Impala and Oldsmobile Delta. The Buick Centurion came with a straightforward vinyl roof, rather than anything more fancy, although it did feature an unusual "formal" rear window.

The Buick Centurion is launched

Although a replacement for the Wildcat, the Buick Centurion was marketed more on luxury and less on performance than the older model. The Centurion's 7.4-litre big-block V8 engine produced 315 horsepower on the base model. Buick Centurion models had better interior trim than LeSabres, including vinyl and cloth seats with centre rear armrest. For a short time at the start of 1971, it was possible to order a Buick Centurion with manual transmission, but this was quickly dropped in favour of a three-speed automatic gearbox. Power steering and disc brakes on the front wheels helped the Centurion to beat its predecessor's sales by over 20% and sell nearly 30,000 cars.

Later evolution of the Buick Centurion

There were few major changes on the 1972 Buick Centurion. Headline horsepower decreased from 315 to 250, but this was due to a shift from quoting gross to net figures. The new year's cars featured some cosmetic alterations, such as new rear lights and a redesigned front grille. The Buick Centurion was by now well established, and sales rose to over 36,000. For 1973, somewhat more significant changes were introduced. The 250-horsepower engine was now only optional, being replaced as the car's standard powerplant by a 175-horsepower V8. The Buick Centurion convertible was now the only car of that type in the company's range. Nevertheless, the decision was made by owners General Motors to replace the Centurion with the LeSabre Luxus for 1974. When production finished after the 1973 model year, the Buick Centurion had sold just over 110,000 units.