The Cutting-Edge Buick Convertible GM Yanked After Two Production Years
Buick is a company that has a history of ending up in the wrong place at the wrong time. Like a squeaky clean Hollywood star arrested for being drunk and disorderly, the respectable Buick has a habit of being a bit unhinged from time to time. Historically, the brand has been the entry level into American luxury motoring, and despite a few wild escapades, Buick decided to go back to its roots in the late ’80s. The result was nothing short of chaos.
Buick Changed Direction In The ’80s
Buick already showed that it could make a sharp detour from its respectable roots in the ’60s. The Buick GSX Stage 1 was a muscle car that no one expected, packing a 510 lb-ft V8 that had more twist than Chrysler’s 426 Street Hemi and Chevrolet’s LS6 454. Buick went through the ’70s championing affordable luxury and big V8s, before transitioning to downsized, fuel-efficient front-wheel-drive platforms in the ’80s. But then Buick had a “moment” again, with the ASC/McLaren-tuned GNX, a boxy coupe that could hit 60 mph in 4.6 seconds and humiliate almost every supercar of its day. Buick decided to deviate from this humdrum existence peppered with moments of madness by going back to its roots once and for all.
Buick Wanted To Reclaim Its Personal-Luxury Credibility
Buick had become synonymous with personal luxury thanks to models like the Riviera and Regal. The top brass felt that the company lacked a halo model in the early ’80s, during a time when the Mercedes-Benz SL was scooping up buyers who wanted something that matched sportiness with high-end image and quality. It decided that it could recapture some of its lost allure and bring some much-needed trickle-down prestige to the lineup with a specialty niche vehicle.
The car would capture some of the essence of the 1938 Buick Y-Job, the world’s first concept car. This vast drop-top was billed as the “Car of the Future,” utilizing tech such as power windows that would later become commonplace. That’s what Buick needed to bring to the market, but perhaps with a little less chrome.
The Sleeper Speed King From The 1980s That Slipped Under Everyone’s Radar
The Turbocharged V6 That Embarrassed V8 Muscle Cars
The 1990 Reatta Convertible Spearheaded Buick’s New Approach
The story goes that the initial idea for the Reatta was an SL-like drop-top that was taken away and turned into the Cadillac Allante. Not only did this delay the Buick for two years, it meant that the Reatta now had to be a two-door coupe initially. Undeterred, Buick continued with its range-topper, creating it on a modified E-body platform that was the basis for GM’s personal luxury coupes such as the Buick Riviera and Oldsmobile Toronado.
To underpin the exclusive nature of the new 1988 Reatta, and hark back to more prestigious times, Buick took the unusual step of repurposing a production facility in Lansing, Michigan, and calling it the Reatta Craft Center. The models moved from station to station on computer-guided platforms, with workers essentially hand-building each car as it came along. A special leather-bound owner’s manual with a “Craftsman’s Log” was the cherry on this bespoke cake. In 1990, Buick introduced an ASC-designed convertible to the lineup.
The Buick Was Groundbreaking For The Time
1990 Buick Reatta Convertible Specs
|
Engine |
3.8-liter V6 |
|
Power |
165 hp |
|
Torque |
210 lb-ft |
To add to this custom build process, Buick wanted the car to be cutting edge. An LN3 3.8-liter V6 was fitted under the hood, featuring a counter-rotating balance shaft for smoothness and port fuel injection. Output was 165 horsepower and 210 lb-ft of torque in the coupe and convertible, which went up to 170 hp and 220 lb-ft for the last year. The drop-top would whoosh to 60 mph in 9.0 seconds and had a top speed of 122 mph. A supercharged and turbocharged version were suggested but never appeared.
The Reatta benefited from four-wheel independent suspension and four-wheel disc brakes with ABS. But the standout feature had to be the touch-screen system, called the Electronic Control Center (ECC), which was like a piece of sci-fi for the late ’80s. The controls for audio, climate control, and trip computer functions were all found on this interface, as well as cutting-edge vehicle-diagnostics functions.
One Good Year, Then GM Pulled the Plug
To be fair to the Reatta, the starting $25,000 price tag was reasonable for any hand-built car. Sales started off slow, with just 4,707 1988 Reattas, rising to 7,009 in 1989, says Hagerty, but the addition of the ASC-designed convertible and the replacement of the temperamental touch screen didn’t help sales much, with Buick shifting 8,515 (2,132 of them convertibles) for 1990. This was not a good sign for a brand-new car. But it got worse. Just 1,520 1991 Reattas were built, with a shocking 305 of them convertibles. GM president Lloyd Reuss was forced to pull the plug. On March 5, 1991, it was announced that the Reatta was canceled. The Lansing Craft Center would be responsible for the futuristic GM EV1 electric vehicle which arrived for 1997. The Reatta sold 21,750 (19,314 coupes and 2,437 convertibles) over its short production span.
The 1980s Muscle Car That Could Beat A Corvette
The 1987 Buick GNX outran GM’s Corvette by nearly two seconds in the quarter-mile, with only 547 ever built.
Why Critics Are Wrong About The Reatta Convertible
The Reatta was designed to align many of Buick’s qualities over the previous decades into one model, reminding the world what the carmaker was all about. In that respect, it succeeded. It was techy and forward-thinking, like a GNX; it was hand-crafted and attainable luxury; it was affordable compared to the foreign competition. It was a third of the price of a Mercedes SL too, which seemed like good value considering the effort that had gone into the Reatta.
There was a bravery to its conception — a moment when American carmakers, which had been battered by high-tech and more luxurious imports, could fight back and show what they were made of. To be fair to the Reatta, the early ’90s were not a good time to sell high-end niche cars, with a period of economic downturn that had even the most prestigious brands struggling. Perhaps a few years earlier the Reatta would have made a bit more impact. In any case, it was worth a try — and Buick should be partly celebrated for throwing everything it knew at the project. Making it rear-drive might have helped too.
The Only V6 Muscle Car With More Torque Than A Big-Block V8
A hidden 1980s V6 hit harder than big-block legends. Learn how this unlikely coupe out-torqued icons and became a cult performance hero.
The Reatta Is A Quirky Classic In 2026
It’s hard to dissuade anyone from buying an R129 Mercedes-Benz SL, but if the German drop-top is a bit too ordinary, a Reatta certainly is a talking point (for better or worse). The prices are, quite frankly, throwaway money too. Expect to pay $5,600 for a 1990 Reatta coupe, says Hagerty, and just $4,400 for a 1988 model in good condition. The convertible is slightly more expensive, setting you back around $8,500. The most sought-after are the Dealer Special Editions with a “Select Sixty” emblem on the hood (reserved for Buick’s top 60 dealers in the US) which go for $8,700. Even with prices like these, are you rushing out to buy a Reatta? Probably not. But that’s not a lot of money to pay for Buick’s most ambitious effort.
Sources: Hagerty
Related posts
Latest Post
No Comments