Buick Reatta

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Buick
Buick Reatta Coupe (1988)
Buick Reatta Coupe (1988)
Reatta
Production period: 1988-1991
Class : Sports car
Body versions : Coupé , convertible
Engines: Otto engine :
3.8 liters (123 kW)
Length: 4666 mm
Width: 1854 mm
Height: 1300 mm
Wheelbase : 2500 mm
Empty weight : 1537-1628 kg
Rear view
Buick Reatta Convertible (1990)

The Buick Reatta is a car of Buick , which was built by the beginning of 1988 and the summer of 1991 as a coupe and convertible.

history

The big Buick convertibles of the 1940s and 1950s established the reputation of the Buick brand as a sporty premium brand from General Motors with their shark grill and technical refinements such as the Dynaflow system . In the 1960s and 1970s, the sporty to luxury-oriented Buick Riviera model was successful on the market. For the first time, the designers no longer borrowed their design from the marine fauna , but adopted elements of boat building, which quickly earned the Riviera of the time the nickname Boattail ( boat stern ). The stagnation in sales could not be stopped with the Riviera alone. The Buick models increasingly eke out a niche existence in the product range of General Motors and sank more and more into technical and optical dreariness.

In the mid-1980s, Buick then remembered its successful past and produced the first drafts of a pure two-seater, which was produced as a convertible and coupé to stave off the competition from Ford ( Mustang ) and Chrysler ( TC by Maserati ) wealthy, young customers. Specialized European companies were also involved in the development of the new two-seater; Abbey Panels in Great Britain, for example, helped design the body and built the prototypes.

The first Reatta coupés were then delivered to dealers in January 1988. But the Reatta did not sell well either, although the coupé initially cost $ 25,000 less than a simple Corvette and more than half less than the Cadillac Allanté . Reasons were the generally declining market and the fact that the image of the Reatta did not fit into the rather conservative Buick model range; the electronic dashboard was not to everyone's taste either. There, unusually, a touchscreen already bundled all the important functions in the middle (ventilation, temperature, tachometer display, etc.). However, this gimmick was very unusual and difficult to use for the time.

In the spring of 1990 Buick pushed a convertible version with a manually operated roof (from $ 34,995), but this could not save the Reatta. A total of 19,314 coupés and 2,437 convertibles had been built by mid-1991.

technology

  • Engine: GM high-volume technology: 3.8-liter six-cylinder V-engine with two valves and electronic fuel injection, installed transversely at the front.
    • Max. Output 123 kW at 5500 −1
    • Max. Torque : 330 Nm
  • Transmission: four-speed automatic transmission with overdrive. Flanged directly to the engine - cardan shaft drive to the front wheels
  • Brakes: Four disc brakes . On the rear axle, the brake caliper is located on the left-hand side at the front and on the right-hand side at the rear of the brake disc.
  • Driving performance: top speed 183 km / h, acceleration from 0 to 100 km / h approx. 10 s

criticism

The main problem with this car, according to the critics, is the brakes. According to them, the braking system is undersized for a sporty driving style.

Web links

Commons : Buick Reatta  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

swell

  • James Flammang / Ron Kowalke: Standard Catalog of American Cars . 3rd edition. Krause Publications, Iola (Wisconsin) 1999