From wild to mild

Buick introduced the Wildcat in 1962 as a subseries of the Invicta. It was designed as a sportier version, utilising a hi-po version of Buick’s 401 Nailhead V8 and boasted bucket seats, console, tach and wide Electra-style tail-lights. The stylists did everything they could to disguise its Invicta/Le Sabre underpinnings and differentiate it from that line with special badging, unique trim… even a vinyl roof. From ’63 it became its own series and remained thus until 1970. The Wildcat was meant to offer Buick customers something a bit ‘sportier’ and more performance-oriented, but by 1970 it was little more than a slightly fancierlooking Le Sabre. For 1971 it morphed into the husky-sounding ‘Centurion’…