The Buick Riviera as a distinct model (as opposed to a trim package name) debuted in the 1963 model year as personal luxury coupe intended to compete with Ford's Thunderbird.
It carried that banner alone for GM until it was joined a few years later by the Oldsmobile Toronado. By the late Sixties, the Riviera, Toronado, and Cadillac Eldorado shared a platform (although the Riv was distinguished from the other two by hanging on to rear wheel drive until the '79 model year.)
1995 saw the eighth and final generation of the Riviera, like this Medium Autumn Green example. The base engine was originally the 205hp GM 3800 corporate V6, with an optional 225-horse supercharged version of the same motor.
For the '98 model year, the supercharged 3800, now producing 240 SAE net horsepower, became the standard motor. The final Rivs were rowdier than anything seen since the old 455cid days of the late Sixties, and the ovoid styling and clean interior looked nice, but 1999 was the end of the road for the Riviera nameplate at Buick.
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