What’s In a Name: 1971-73 Buick Centurion

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At just three years, the Centurion name had a remarkably short life in the Buick product lineup. Let’s take a closer look at these rare animals.

 

Automotive branding is a fickle game, evidently. In 1959, Buick’s full-sized, mid-range offering, previously known as the Century, was rebadged as the Invicta, only to be rebadged again as the Wildcat in 1963. For 1971, Buick shuffled the deck one more time and replaced the Wildcat with the Centurion. The name was borrowed from a fabulous Motorama show car (see our 1956 Centurion feature here) and was also a subtle callback to the original Century name of 1936-58.

 

1971 Buick Centurion Hardtop Sedan

 

The Centurion was built on the same General Motors B-body platform as the base-model LeSabre, sharing its 124-inch wheelbase. (GM’s B-body package was all new for ’71.) But unlike the Lesabre, the Centurion was was offered in pillarless body styles exclusively: two-door and four-door hardtops and a convertible. The Centurion also featured an upgraded interior and minor trim variations, including a stylized Roman helmet as its chrome avatar.

Another key difference: Instead of the LeSabre’s 350 cubic-inch V8, the Centurion was equipped with Buick’s mighty 455 cubic-inch V8 as standard. With its compression ratio reduced to 8.5:1 for ’71 so it could run on unleaded fuel, the big V8 was now rated at 315 hp in base form. In ’72 the 455 was downrated again to 250 hp as GM switched from the SAE gross to SAE net rating  system. For ’73, the Centurion’s final year, a 350 CID with 175 hp was now standard, but the 250 hp 455 was still available as an option.

 

1972 Buick Centurion Hardtop Coupe

 

When the LeSabre convertible was dropped for ’73, the Centurion continued on as the sole convertible in the Buick full-sized lineup for one more year (below). Throughout the Centurion’s three-year model life, sales were never impressive: At 30,000 to 45,000 per year, they represented a small fraction of the division’s total volume. For 1974, Buick dropped its mid-range entry altogether, name and all, and carried on with the LeSabre and Electra 225 as its only full-sized offerings.

 

1973 Buick Centurions

4 thoughts on “What’s In a Name: 1971-73 Buick Centurion”

  1. The Buick Centurion was a beast. It is a BIG car. I drove one years. Loved it!! Definitely worthy of it’s name!

  2. … and beautifully styled. The best among the GM B and C bodies in the 1970s… IMHO.

  3. In hindsight it was too similar to the Lesabre. America didn’t want it and Buick didn’t need it.

  4. I have a 71 Buick Centurion hardtop been in a garage most of 40 years Has not been driven since 2014

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