1983 Buick Riviera: The Riviera XX and the Indy Pace Cars

Riviera production for 1983 totaled 50,234, this record's own overview states, a figure the Riviera Owners Association's own table and Wikipedia's own reproduction of James Flammang's Standard Catalog of Buick table agree on, this record's own note calling the two lineages in agreement; the turbocharged 3.8-liter V-6 was again rated 180 horsepower in the T Type. This record's own dek totals the year's specialty cars at 1,331 T Types, 1,750 convertibles and 502 Riviera XX anniversary cars, each reported without a paired conflict in this record's own production section, with the XX row's own note adding that Wikipedia describes 500 as offered against 502 actually built.^1,2

This record's own key facts section, drawn from the Evolution article, states that Buick built two custom Riviera convertible pace cars for the 1983 Indianapolis 500 and 500 two-door hardtop copies for production, matching the anniversary-car total this record's own production table separately reports at 502; the same key facts entry also states that the V-8 was dropped from the T-Type for 1983 and that the diesel engine remained coupe-only.³

This record's own prices section carries three figures for the year: $15,238 for the sport coupe, $15,906 for the T-Type, and $24,960 for the convertible, each row sourced to both the Owners Association's own options-and-prices transcription and its separately written Evolution article together, with no separate figure given for either source alone and no accompanying entry in this record's own (empty) conflicts section to suggest the two pages disagreed on any of the three amounts.^4,3

This record's own conflicts and identification sections are both empty for 1983, leaving the key facts and production notes to carry the year's more unusual claims. This record's own options section itemizes 63 entries in total, including a two-position memory power driver's seat under code AG3 at $178, an Electric Trunk Lock under code A91 at $72 that this record's own text notes requires the electric trunk release option A90, and an Electric Seatback Recliner for the passenger side under code A81 at $139, all priced individually by the Owners Association's own transcription of the 1983 order form.⁴

This record's own paint table carries 16 colours from the Owners Association's 1983 chart, its own note describing three two-tone treatments, Light Blue over Blue, Light Green over Green and Light Brown over Brown, plus eight vinyl-top and nine accent-stripe colour codes. Its interiors section carries 9 trims, opening with a standard 45/45 Prima-cloth seat offered in Green, Blue, Gray, Tan and Brown among its listed colours, this record's own chart cited as the source for every row.⁵

This record's own specifications section carries seven 1983 figures from the Owners Association's weights-and-measures table: a 3,699-pound curb weight, a 114.0-inch wheelbase, front and rear track of 59.3 and 60.0 inches, a 206.0-inch overall length, a 72.8-inch width, a 54.3-inch height, and a P205/75-15 tire size. This record's own unpublished-leads section is empty for the year, and its own performance and transmissions sections carry no entries either, leaving the production, key-facts and options sections as this record's own richest sources for 1983.⁶