1986: Buick gets Wild
Buick’s exotic Wildcat mid-engine show car, unveiled at the1986 Las Vegas SEMA exhibition, was one of the most radical designs to emerge from Detroit. And yet, many of its features – 4-wheel drive with electronically controlled transmission, multi-valve cylinder heads, digital/analog displays were expected to turn up shortly on some production cars from Flint.
“Wildcat is a dramatic statement about Buick.” said General Manager Don Hackworth. “There is Buick written all over that car. When you see some of the things we do in the future, you will see some of the Wildcat. You will even see that profile, that silhouette in the future.”
Developed in cooperation with PPG industries, the Wildcat’s composite-plastic body had a forward-hinged canopy for entry and exit. In the cockpit, electronic displays in the wheel hub and on the head-up panel ahead of the driver monitor everything from horsepower and torque at specific rpm to lateral g-force at each wheel. The car also featured electronic anti-lock brakes, with vented discs all around.
The focal point of the car was its exposed powerplant, an advanced version of Buick’s sturdy 3.8-liter V-6, fitted with sequential fuel injection, twin overhead cams and four valves per cylinder, that developed 230-bhp at 6000 rpm and 245 lb-ft of torque at 4000 rpm.
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