The 1963 Buick Riviera Silver Arrow I. Photos courtesy Sloan Museum.
The Buick Riviera that hit the market on October 4, 1962, wasn’t quite the car that GM stylist Bill Mitchell had in mind when he penned a design for a personal luxury coupe, originally intended as a possible revival car for GM’s shuttered La Salle brand. Looking for something with both a bit more style and a bit more sport, Mitchell pulled an early Riviera from the assembly line, then shipped the car off to Detroit’s Creative Industries for a bit of modification. The resulting show car, dubbed the Buick Riviera Silver Arrow I, became Mitchell’s personal transportation when it wasn’t on the show circuit, and now the one-of-a-kind coupe will make an appearance at the upcoming Muscle Car and Corvette Nationals.
Starting with a production Riviera (reportedly built on the model’s very first day of assembly), Creative Industries lowered the roof by two inches, then lengthened the hood and front fenders. As the original design of the Riviera called for hidden headlamps (which wouldn’t appear on the car until the 1965 design update), Mitchell instructed the shop to include this feature on the show car. Rather than using a cover operated via vacuum or electric motor, Creative Industries mounted the headlamps behind translucent lenses on the front fenders, relocating the parking lights and directional signals below the front bumper. Though the function of the 1965 Riviera’s front lighting would differ, the appearance of the car’s front end would be strikingly similar to the Silver Arrow I show car.
Under the hood, the Silver Arrow I made do with the Riviera’s 401-cu.in. V-8, rated at 325 horsepower and shifting through Buick’s Turbine Drive automatic transmission. Given the show car’s comparable size and weight to the production Riviera, that should have enabled a 0-60 MPH run in around 8.1 seconds, with a quarter-mile time in the neighborhood of 16 seconds. No changes were made to the Riviera’s wheelbase, suspension or brakes, as upping the show car’s handling prowess was never on the list of requirements delivered by Mitchell.
Mitchell’s inspiration for the original design was said to come from a Rolls-Royce emerging from a London fog. The coupe envisioned by Mitchell would have the Rolls-Royce’s stately presence, but with the sporty lines of a Ferrari grand tourer, blending the best of both worlds. This is exemplified in the removable wheel discs used on the Silver Arrow I; in place, they give the Silver Arrow I an air of luxury, but removed, they highlight the car’s track-themed wire wheels. A further nod to sports cars of the day can be seen in the Silver Arrow’s bullet-shaped side mirrors, finished in matching paint instead of the more formal chrome plating. Inside, the show car used silver leather upholstery and trim as one more reminder that, though production-car based, this was not a Buick one could take delivery of at the local dealership.
The Silver Arrow’s long and low shape pays a bit of homage to Harley Earl, although Mitchell broke from many of his former boss’s styling cues (oversize fins and abundant chrome, for example) when he took over as vice president of GM’s Styling Section. Though not as well known as other GM show cars and concepts, the Buick Riviera Silver Arrow I did have a direct impact on the styling of later models, and likely remains a more accurate interpretation of Mitchell’s Ford Thunderbird-fighting La Salle coupe.
Now owned by Flint, Michigan’s, Sloan Museum, the Silver Arrow I will join other vehicles in the “The Class of ’63″ display at the Muscle Car and Corvette Nationals November 23 and 24 in Rosemont, Illinois. For additional information, visit MCACN.com.
