In 1990, Buick awarded its top 60 dealerships with a limited-edition 1990 Buick Reatta Convertible Select 60 Edition. These special Buick Reatta Convertible models all came fully loaded and also featured white exterior paint with a white vinyl top, a red and white two-tone interior and color-keyed wheels. General Motors built only 60 of these vehicles for dealers (as the name would imply) although it also produced five extras that were given to GM executives.
One of these rare 1990 Buick Reatta Convertible Select 60 Edition models will soon head to auction at Mecum’s upcoming Kissimmee Summer Special Sale. With only 65 ever built, a Reatta Select 60 appearing at an auction would already be noteworthy, but this particular vehicle’s history makes it extra interesting.
According to Mecum’s listing, this car spent nearly two decades in the GM Heritage Center before the automaker sold it in 2009 after the company went bankrupt. As a result, this is a museum-quality Buick Reatta that is essentially perfect in every way. Even the engine bay looks clean enough to eat off of.
Not surprisingly, this car didn’t rack up very many miles after spending the majority of its life in the GM Heritage Center. The digital odometer currently shows just 1,002 miles, so it has been driven very sparingly since it rolled off the assembly line in Lansing Michigan way back in 1989.
It’s not clear how much Mecum and the current owner of the vehicle are hoping it will fetch at auction. The Reatta isn’t a very sought-after car as far as 1990s GM products go, though, so we’re not expecting it to set any records, to say the very least. Check out the listing here for some more photos of this near-perfect Buick Reatta Convertible Series 60.
Comments
That’s a sharp little car. I would take it if the price was right. It will be a future collectible and the value will probably keep going up.
Try getting the windshield replaced in one of these. It’ll be a months long process. Most glass companies won’t touch these things. Not to mention they are ugly!
Not my experience at all. A little leg-work yes, but doable.
This is the only way to buy one as the parts to restore one are near impossible to find.
I was at the Detroit Auto Show and they had a team of UAW workers assembling one of those on the floor at the show! It was interesting to watch.
Engine/trans?, No. Body panels?, Maybe. I’ve still see Reattas and Alantes go for well under $10k on C/L.
Again, not my experience at all. The Reatta is the “same” platform as Riviera, Eldo, Toronado, Seville of the era. Some parts are more precious than others, but again, all doable and most are easy to find. Hey folks, these are great looking hand-built cars with “perpetual” engines. It’s been a very rewarding and financially easy own with light resto. Super fun to drive!
Reatta is a neat little roadster but in no way a special car from a driving or engineering standpoint. Basically a chopped and shortened Riviera, including the FWD power train with the base 3800 V6. Is live to have one for a sunny Sunday cruise but wouldn’t pay over 10k for one, above that you’re in Corvette territory.
You’re right, the problem is the Cascada is vastly better and more significant as a final spec FWD convertible. We may only ever see that from GM again as an EV.
Not to mention the Cascada you can walk away from in an accident, being a next-gen Saab 9-3 that got cancelled mid-development.
Don’t need to say which one I’d get… and pop a TTV6 into (c/o Cascada HiPer struts).
Cascada got right what Reatta got wrong.
No Reatta belongs in a museum. Not knocking the car, but they are ordinary and GM made enough of them that they will never be rare. I wouldn’t mind having one as a driver, as the drivetrain and a lot of other things are from the GM bins, and easily available. But it’s sure not an investment car.
I know someone who has has around 80 of these. He’s the guy for parts.
I fondly recall selling at the Buick dealership in 1990 when this was introduced. I don’t care what anyone says about the Reatta, it was a very nice and really competent car. I never could (and still can’t) understand why this car never really took off. I know Buick wasn’t really known for this type of car and they didn’t advertise (surprise) it much at all, so the typical Buick buyer back then wasn’t really the target and the true target audience just didn’t know it existed. But IMO, that wasn’t the main reason for it’s failure. The market had already shifted away from 2dr and convertible models enough that the overall market was just too small.
Either way, this was a really nice vehicle built around a proven chassis with a bulletproof engine. And for that time, it handled well, got great MPG’s, had ample power and was a super riding car. This is a fantastic example.
Nail on the proverbial head! My 91coupe “Reynaldo” and I concur.
Sure, they’re never going to be super rare, or even super collectable, but, ideally, it would be cool to have a small collection of those ’70s and ’80s era two-seater convertibles, like this Reatta, and maybe the Cadillac Allante, the Chrysler TC by Maseratti, the Chrysler Crossfire, the Pontiac Solstace, or the Saturn equivalent, or the ’90s Thunderbird, among others. They all can be picked up for a reasonable price, these days, and it would be so fun to cruise around town, or just go out for an occasional nice, long ride on a warm summer evening, with the top down. Except for the Mustang and Camaro convertible, which are not true two-seaters, and the Corvettes, there’s not likely to be anymore two-seater convertible models produced, at least, in the near future, and likely for good, as the world is shifting to four-door SUVs.