This is an often overlooked muscle car.
Buick’s contribution to the muscle car era has been in many ways overshadowed by the more popular cars of the time, despite the fact that the GS of the 1970s was the car to beat. At the time, the HEMI cars were running the quarter-mile in the low 14-second range, the Corvettes were hailed as having the most power, and the very special LS6 Chevelles were easily breaking into the high 13s. Meanwhile, almost under the radar, independent reviews of the Buick GS were turning up with results insinuating the cars were capable of easily being the fastest thing on the road with a 13.38-second quarter-mile ET. This sparked an argument that continued for decades after and even as the muscle car era was fading, enthusiasts were still duking it out.
Disputed performance accolades aside, there was an undisputed truth about the GS that everyone could agree on. When it came to Luxury and Comfort in the GM lineup, Buick was surpassed only by Cadillac who didn’t make performance models at the time, and the automaker did not hold back when putting together the muscle car’s interior. Starting in 1970, Buick proved that you could have the very best in luxuries and all the power of a muscle car.
Unfortunately, less than 7K GS 455s were made and of those only 1040 were convertibles equipped with a TH400. This rarity means finding one today could prove to be difficult. This particular example is a one of only 232 car in this particular configuration.
This 1970 Buick Skylark being offered by Raleigh Classic Car Auctions is an excellent example of a very original 455 GS. The 455 Ram Air V8 under the hood funnels into the TH400 automatic transmission. This feeds into a 3.42 posi 10-bolt rearend to put the 510 lbs-ft of torque to the ground.
This vehicle is being sold at the Raleigh Classic Winter Sale December 3-4. Consignment and Bidder Registration information can be found here. There are over 400 cars for sale in the upcoming auction from December 3rd-4th, 2021. Contact Raleigh Classic at 919-269-5271 prior to November 1, 2021 to take advantage of their early registration bidder incentive.
