Buick Reatta

Manufacturer	General Motors
Production	1988 to 1991
Assembly	United States
Designer	Dave McIntosh (1983)
Class	Sports car
Body style	2-door coupe and convertible
Layout	Transverse front-engine, front-wheel drive
Platform	E-body
Chassis	unibody
Engine	3.8 L LN3 L27 Buick V6
Transmission	4-sp  automatic
Wheelbase	98.5 in (2,502 mm)
Length	183.7 in (4,666 mm)
Width	73.0 in (1,854 mm)
Height	1988–89: 51.2 in (1,300 mm) 1990–91: 51.6 in (1,311 mm)
Curb weight	3,377 lb (1,532 kg) 3,392 lb (1,539 kg)

The Buick Reatta is a car of Buick, which was built by the beginning of 1988 and the summer of 1991 as a coupe and convertible.

History 

The Buick models were increasingly nascent in General Motors' product range, sinking more and more in technical and visual gloom.

In the mid-1980s, Buick then reconsidered his successful past and produced the first designs of a pure front wheel drive two-seater, produced as a convertible and coupe that would make the financier of Ford (Mustang) and Chrysler (TC by Maserati) cash-strapped young customers. The development of the new two-seater also involved European specialist companies; Abbey Panels in the UK, for example, helped design the body and built the prototypes.

In January 1988, the first Reatta coupes were then delivered to dealers. But even the Reatta did not sell well, although the coupe cost at first $ 25,000, much less than a simple Corvette and more than half less than the Cadillac Alante. Reasons for this were the generally declining market and the fact that the Reatta did not fit into the more conservative Buick model range; even that Buick's only car with pop-up headlamps the electronic dashboard and in 1989 keyless entry was added as standard but this Moden features was not for everyone. There unusually already a touchscreen in the middle concentrated all important functions (ventilation, temperature, display of tachometer, etc.). This gimmick was for that time, however, very unusual and cumbersome to use.

In the spring of 1990 the interior was redesigned, adding safety with the fitment of driver's airbag, Buick pushed a convertible version with a manually operated roof to (from $ 34,995), which the Reatta but could not save. By mid-1991, a total of 19,314 coupes and 2,437 convertibles.