1990 BUICK REATTA CONVERTIBLE 53,XXX MILES 1 OF 2132 PRODUCED AND 1 OF 60 SILVER CONVERTIBES PRODUCED! Original MSRP: Base Price $34,995 CLEAN CAR FAX & AUTO CHECK!
With the infamy of the Pontiac Fiero and Cadillac Allante, it’s easy to forget that General Motors made another two-seater in the 1980s (in addition to the Chevy Corvette). That car was the Buick Reatta, a curvy two-seat coupe and convertible hand-built in Lansing, Michigan, from 1988–91. With fewer than 22,000 units produced, the Reatta belongs in the special class of unintentionally-rare cars from high-volume manufacturers. And while less than perfect at the time, affordable prices today mean you can capture the quintessential late-1980s GM styling vibe on the cheap.
The Reatta was based on a modified E-body platform that underpinned GM’s personal luxury coupes like the Buick Riviera and Oldsmobile Toronado. Power came from the venerable 3800 V-6 which made 165 horsepower, with the tuned-port fuel injection 3800 Series 1 bumping output to 170 hp for the final model year. A supercharged version of the 3800 was never offered, and a four-speed automatic was the only available transmission.
While it was meant to be Buick’s halo car; the original $25,000 sticker price for the coupe was just more than half that of the Allante. A convertible was added in 1990 with an innovative hard tonneau cover built into the decklid WITH A MSRP PRICE 34,995.
Another noteworthy feature of the Reatta was its touchscreen interface in the dashboard, called the Graphic Control Center, an industry-first that launched with the 1986 Riviera. The green-and-black cathode-ray tube display was used for stereo, climate control, and trip computer adjustments—at least when it worked. Like many first-time automotive gadgets, this one was too far ahead of its time. Buick replaced the GCC in later models with a more conventional dash.
Motor Trend highlighted the Reatta as a future classic in 2006, noting: “The Reatta attempted to bridge the gap between Buick’s traditional silver foxes and the younger, sportier boomers it had temporarily pandered to by combining the best attributes of a sports car and an exclusive luxury tourer while eliminating the negatives of both.
The good news is that Reattas are affordable today, with most #3 (good) values under $10,000 and even #1 (concours) coupes top out at $13,500.
Expect to pay about twice as much for a convertible model, as well as a slight premium for any of the ultra-rare “Select Sixty” special edition cars offered to the top 60 Buick dealers some years.
This classic is still affordable and a extremely low production GM convertible will only go up in value!
Call 314-346-039 to purchase or with any questions.
314-346-6039
