Optional was a high-output version of the 455 with dual exhausts, good for an extra 20 or so horsepower.
1973 BUICK CENTURION HARDTOP MANUAL
Blame the 4500-pound curb weight for that number which, to modern eyes, seems quite slow considering the sheer size of the engine and the accordingly awful gas mileage.Ī column-mounted three-speed manual was initially the standard transmission but was quickly discontinued, with Buick making the three-speed Turbo-Hydramatic standard fitment. The big-block packed an extra 80 or so horses than the 350, with a recorded 315 hp (gross) or 225 hp after the ’72 change to net horsepower ratings, and it reached 60 mph in around 9.5 seconds. For that extra cash, the buyer received Buick’s 455 cubic-inch V8 with a 4-barrel carbureter instead of the LeSabre’s standard 350. Opting for a Centurion over a lesser LeSabre would have cost a shopper around $300-600. “Hey, Merv, what the heck is a Centurion?” “I don’t know, Maude, that looks like a LeSabre to me!” Visually, the car looked 95% like a LeSabre but for a funny little badge on the back. The print media campaign for the Centurion didn’t serve to explain what the Centurion was other than the fact it came with a wide range of Buick features like AccuDrive. For everybody else, the Centurion was an unknown quantity. Lindeman also extolled the virtues of the Centurion’s surprisingly agile handling, drawing a sharp contrast to the wallowing, overtly plush dynamics of other Buicks.įor those in the know, the Buick was a good buy.
That buyer would have seen Bud Lindeman’s review, where he called the Centurion the best Buick he’d ever tested and the best buy in the entire Buick fleet. A buyer who simply had to have the largest V8 available, who preferred a firmer suspension and more agile handling. The Centurion, therefore, seemed a full-size Buick for those with discerning tastes. Interior trim was slightly nicer but not dramatically so, and there was no bucket-and-console set-up like in past sporty full-size cars. Even Buick’s trademark Ventiports were gone, meaning the Centurion was visually less decorated than the LeSabre from whence it came. Perhaps so as not to cripple the Centurion’s chances of success, Buick had made the car as anonymous as possible and avoided making it look overtly sporty. The concept of a sporty full-size car had become almost outré-Buick, of all brands, was the last man standing. Despite the name changes, the Centurion was much like its forebears in that it followed a simple formula: take a regular full-size Buick, give it a bigger engine, and price it for less than the flagship Electra.īy the 1970s, the full-size market was embracing cars like the Ford LTD and Chevrolet Caprice, which offered luxurious accoutrements and commensurately upscale styling. It replaced the Wildcat, which in turn had succeeded the Invicta and Super. (first posted ) Buick’s ‘Banker’s Hot Rod’ of the 1970s was the Centurion.
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