1955 Buick Wildcat III Concept

Buick introduced three concept cars in the early 1950s which they dubbed 'Wildcat.' The first example, introduced in 1953 as the Wildcat and later renamed as the Wildcat I, had a low-slung design with seating for two, a wraparound windshield, a sculpted rear deck, and unique 'Roto-Static' wheel covers. The Wildcat II concept followed a year later for the Motorama, wearing much more dramatic and radical designs with its most prominent feature being the flying wing contours that exposed the front wheel and part of the suspension.

The Buick Wildcat III Concept followed in 1955 and featured traditional Buick styling cues including the prominent grille in the front with Dagmars in the bumpers, and large air ducts at each corner. Turn signals were also incorporated into the bumper, and the grille had chrome mesh inserts and was incorporated into the hood. There was a wraparound windshield with chrome windshield pillars that were nearly vertical. The body sides had a 'coke-bottle' shape with sweeping chrome side-spear, and along with a low profile, giving the vehicle an athletic appearance.

Power was supplied by a 322 cubic-inch engine that had a bore of 4-inches and a stroke of 3.2-inches. The 'Nailhead' V-8 delivered 280 horsepower with the help of four 2-barrel carburetors and a custom intake manifold. The engine was backed by a Dynaflow automatic transmission.

By Daniel Vaughan | Aug 2020