History may not remember it quite this way, but the 1966 Buick Riviera actually outsold the classic 1963 through 1965 models.

The first-generation Buick Riviera of 1963-65 is a celebrated car today, and rightly so. Styled by Buick master designer Ned Nickles under the leadership of General Motors styling boss Bill Mitchell, the Riviera is a benchmark of postwar American car design. (Mitchell created an idealized version of the original Riviera he called the Silver Arrow, which you can explore here.)

Still, it’s interesting to note that the second-generation Riviera introduced in 1966 was an even better seller than the stunning original, with more than 45,000 units delivered the first year. To be fair, a good part of the credit for the success of the second-gen Riviera belongs to the original, which laid the groundwork for all the Rivieras to follow. Buick styling chief David R. Holls incorporated a number of ’63-’65 design elements in the ’66 car, which is telegraphed in the marketing tagline for 1966: “Tuned, Taut, Smoother Than Ever.”

One noteworthy departure for 1966 was in the cabin, above. Consumer surveys had discovered that many traditional Buick owners found the buckets-and-console theme in the first-gen Riviera too claustrophobic, so a choice of three interior layouts was offered: traditional bench, split bench with armrest, and buckets and console.

This new Riviera was also longer, wider, and 200 lbs heavier than the original. You might never know it to look at them as their exterior looks are so remarkably different, but the ’66 Riviera and Toronado shared the same basic platform and a number of internal body panels. And while they shared a 119-inch wheelbase, the front-drive Toronado employed unit/subframe hybrid construction and the rear-drive Riviera continued with its X-frame chassis.

The ’66 Riviera is notable for one more reason: this was the last year for the near-legendary Nailhead V8, as an all-new Buick big-block V8 would appear in ’67. (See our feature on the Nailhead here.) With a 10.25:1 compression ratio and 425 cubic inches it was good for 340 hp, and with the optional Gran Sport package (which included a standard 3.42:1 limited slip axle) the Riviera could do 125 mph. Sales remained solid throughout the 1966-70 production cycle for the second-gen Riviera, and in 1969 the Buick personal-luxury car outsold even the perennial class-leading Thunderbird with more than 52,000 deliveries. Sales finally dipped a bit in 1970, and in 1971 the second-generation Riviera was retired in favor of the radical and controversial Boattail Riviera.