1988 Buick Reatta

The Buick Reatta was advertised as the company's first two-seater since the 1940 Buick Model 46. It was a handmade luxurious sports coupe produced at the Reatta Craft Center, now called Lansing Craft Center. Power was from GM's 3800 V-6 rated at 170 horsepower and 210 lbs. of torque. It had a sporty design with a low drag coefficient of 0.34. More than just a sports car, it was outfitted with nearly every available option, including power windows and locks, fog lamps, power leather bucket seats, stainless steel exhaust, power-operated sunroof, and a touch screen computer interface called 'Electronic Control Center.' The touch screen controlled the radio and climate control functions.

The low production Buick Reatta was manufactured and marketed by Buick as a coupe from 1988 through 1991 and a convertible for the 1990 and 1991 model year. Both the coupe and convertible were equipped with a 3.8-liter V6 engine and rested on a shortened version of the GM E platform, the same as the one used for the Buick Riviera. It used a fully independent suspension and four-wheel disc brakes.

Priced at $25,000, they were the most expensive vehicle in the Buick lineup. A total of 4,708 examples were built in 1988. The total production of coupes and convertible, from 1988 through 1991, reached 21,751 examples.

By Daniel Vaughan | May 2016