To celebrate Buick’s centennial in 2003, the company wanted to build a custom show car that would incorporate styling cues and parts from a number of historic models. The Buick Blackhawk would use design language from the legendary 1938 Y-Job, sheet metal from 1941 and 1948 Roadmasters, interior components from a 1990s Riviera, in addition to a host of custom fabricated features.
Special vehicles manager Michael Doble was the driving force behind the Buick Blackhawk. Instead of having the Blackhawk done in house, Doble enlisted former Buick designer Steven Pasteiner of Advanced Automotive Technologies.
Pasteiner began with a 1996 Buick Riviera, and stripped it clean of everything but the VIN plate. The wheelbase was stretched to one hundred twenty-nine inches. The 3.8-liter V6 was replaced by a 1970 Buick GS Stage III 455 CI V-8 engine with electronic fuel injection rated at 463 horsepower and 510 pound-feet of torque. Spent gasses are exhaled through a three-inch dual exhaust. Power is routed to the back wheels through a 4L80E four-speed automatic transmission.
The Buick Blackhawk rides on a Corvette-based independent front and rear suspension. The front end, with its hidden flip-over headlights, smacks of the 1938 Y-Job concept car that was often driven by GM design legend Harley Earl. A 1939 Buick grille was featured in the nose of the Blackhawk, while sheet metal from 1941 and 1948 Buick Roadmasters helped to form the custom body. The retractable hardtop is constructed of carbon fiber, and is swallowed by the long, sweeping rear end when down. The doors open with a keyless entry fob, as the door handles have been shaved. The exterior is covered in a dazzling hue called Deep Purple Metallic.
Inside, the Buick Blackhawk is awash in sumptuous cream leather. Many of the parts used to create the interior were sourced from a mid-1990s Riviera. The Blackhawk is equipped with power steering, power brakes, cruise control, Vintage Air, and power windows.
The engine bay of the Buick Blackhawk is home to the aforementioned fuel injected Buick GS Stage III 455 CI generating a powerful 463 horses. The block has been painted black, and the air cleaner, intake, and valve covers are all coated in a black crinkle finish. It is said that the Blackhawk is capable of sub-five second zero-to-sixty sprints and that it can break the back tires loose at will.
Upon completion, the Buick Blackhawk made appearances exclusively at Buick enthusiast events. It even had a brief appearance in the movie Bad Boys II. Thereafter, the Blackhawk found a home at the GM Heritage Center. It was sold in 2009 at the Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale auction, raking in a deserved $522,500 including buyer’s fee. It is being sold on a bill of sale, as it does not conform to federal, state, or local laws, and may not be driven on public roads.
This one-of-a-kind Buick Blackhawk custom will cross the auction block at the Mecum Auctions Kissimmee, Florida sale January 6th-16th.
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Comments
Well done. Very cool. A+ Will please Barrett-Jackson.
This car is pure SOW ( Sex On Wheels ) and that is coming from a 61 year old grandmother .
There’s not much that surprises or excites me anymore , but this car has suprised and excited me . To say good job just wouldn’t cover it ,
I am beyond impressed .
Thank you .
Beauty
now this is a car buick should made for the masses ,it would of sold big time,old style with modern performance ,sure wish i could afford this car would love to drive it
LOVE the car, but I’m a little confused. If someone buys it, what do they do with it? Build a see-through garage so they could look at it since they can’t drive it on the road? Although, I suppose some millionaire or billionaire who has acres and acres of land could buy it, but unless the area is paved they would be riding the dirt roads. However, I guess if you have a ton of money you could do whatever you want. 🤷♂️🤷♂️🤷♂️
Almost as cool as the late Buick Regal TourX ( and just as rare!!!!)
It last sold by RM Auctions for $363000 back in 2015. Seems they forget to advertise its lower price.
I did four different design proposals for Buick, this one was chosen. Actually it was constructed on a custom frame specifically designed to adopt Corvette C-4 front and rear suspension components for the car, NO Riviera parts used other than some interior pieces. I don’t know where that misinformation came from regarding the Riviera! The car ran high 13s at a drag strip near Richmond VA at the Buick Nationals.
Mr Pasteiner, I have dream build myself one copy inspired of this fabulous design. Robert Robertone Semnicky
There is something to be said for the glory days when different makers put out some beautiful cars. Very much like this one. Variety the spice of life.
While beautiful in design and exterior color choice, just staring at it and not being able drive it out on the roads takes all the thrill and joy out of owning it. Why can it not be driven on public roads? Could feasible changes be made to allow it to go out on the highway? The article should have explained this.
I’m not a Buick kind of guy but I’d love this one! What a beauty!
Probably can’t drive it on the road unless you hang bumpers on it.
What a shame that the big three American automobile manufacturers forgot how to build cars like this one and now shove SUVs and crossovers at us. They stopped building sedans, coupes, and convertibles because they are too busy minding the bottom line to please the stockholders and protecting their corporate bonuses. GM hasn’t built a Buick luxury sedan since 2019. Chrysler still builds the 300, and Ford hasn’t produced any sedans last year or this. They forgot where the actual money that they earn really comes from, the customer, not the stockholder.
Ronny: Most car buyers today are not vehicle affecinados. They are the masses without a cultured taste. Hence your across the board generic looking crossovers and SUV’s. Primarily your Walmart shoppers. Fast food consumers the likes of which prefer dining at McDonald’s, Burger King, Dominos, Papa John’s, Taco Bell, etc. Your Marlboro, Budweiser crowd.
Even the vintage Checker sedan has more panache and style than today’s offerings and is 10X’s more comfortable too. The automakers build what Uncle Sam dictates and what the general bland consuming public will accept. Just look what the masses are now accepting in housing. Bland, cheaply wooden constructed mid rise and high rise high density housing, with high rents, in the urban cores and outskirts and microwave home meals.
Pure garbage and the general public buys it.