A rare model, produced for just one year
A stunning, flowing body shape
The most powerful engine on a short wheelbase
Largely preserved in its original condition
In an effort to broaden its model range still further, Buick combined the comparatively compact body of the Special with the powerful engine of the larger Roadmaster in 1936. The result was called the Century – supposedly because it was capable of reaching 100 miles per hour. For an American saloon of the period, that was quite a statement.
By 1941, the Century had grown into a substantial motor car. Beneath its long bonnet sat Buick’s famous 320-cubic-inch Fireball straight-eight, displacing a little over 5.2 litres and producing around 165 SAE bhp. There was a three-speed gearbox, hydraulic brakes and independent front suspension. Above all, there was torque. Lots of it. The Century occupied a clever position between two worlds. It offered almost the luxury of Buick’s larger models, but with less weight and correspondingly more lively performance.
Harley Earl’s team had done its bit on the outside as well. Broad wings, plenty of chrome and a grille now stretching almost the full width of the car made the Buick unmistakably American. Restraint was evidently not among the design objectives for 1941. Buyers could choose from a wide variety of body styles, with two or four doors, with or without a roof, and with either two rows of seats or just one. The latter were traditionally known as ‘Business Coupés’, giving travelling salesmen plenty of luggage space where the rear seat would otherwise have been.
Also new for 1941 was the handsome ‘Sedanet’ body, with its elegantly flowing fastback rear. As the Model 66, it was also available as a Business Coupé, but for this one year only. The Century Business Coupé had already disappeared from the range for 1942. And within the first few months of that year, civilian car production itself came to an end as industry turned to the war effort.
This rare Sedanet Business Coupé remains in a remarkably untouched condition both inside and out. That alone was reason enough for its last owner to bring the car from the United States to Austria in 2013. Still retaining its original cloth interior and finished in its original colour, the Buick has precisely the sort of character that restored cars all too often lose.
Before the Century can once again demonstrate why it was the fastest Buick of its day, it will need a thorough mechanical inspection. It has already spent several years waiting to be awakened from its Sleeping Beauty slumber. None of that, however, detracts from its presence. Buick’s advertising slogan for 1941 did not read ‘When better automobiles are built, Buick will build them’ for nothing.