Boat tail tales - Part 6: Buick Riviera, 1971. The fourth generation Riviera, designed by Jerry Hirshberg under Bill Mitchell’s direction, adopted radical boat tail styling. Sales dropped and the fifth generation model which arrived in 1974 returned to convention flat rear styling.
Cadillac Seville Elegante, 1980. The second generation Seville, with its distinctive bustle-back styling was one of the last GM products designed under Vice President of Design Bill Mitchell. For 1980 the Seville also moved to became front-wheel drive, based on the GM E-body platform.
Vauxhall Piper, 1963. A compact roadster based on the HA series Vauxhall Viva that would have competed with other small British sports cars such as the Austin-Healey Sprite (pictured with a clay model of the Piper), MG Midget and Triumph Spitfire. The project went as far as a roadworthy prototype and was presented to GM’s VP of design Bill Mitchell when he was visiting Vauxhall’s Luton Design and Engineering centre. Though Mitchell was impressed the project was cancelled
Pontiac Pegasus Concept, 1971. Designed under the direction of Bill Mitchell, GM Design Vice President, based on a 1970 second generation Pontiac Firebird. The prototype was built in collaboration with Enzo Ferrari so the styling was modified and the car was fitted with Ferrari 4.4 litre Tipo 251 Colombo V12 engine, 5 speed gearbox and exhaust system. The instrument panel gauges were also from Ferrari, the wire wheels were from Borrani. There was a GM posi-traction rear axle with 4-wheel disc brakes from a Corvette. It remained a one-off and is part of the GM Heritage Collection
Still swinging at 60 Buick Riviera, 1963. General Motors needed a car to compete with Ford’s Thunderbird in the rapidly expanding personal luxury market and styling chief, Bill Mitchell, had just the thing. The La Salle XP-715 concept designed by Ned Nickles, had been shown in 1961 but Cadillac (La Salle was an historic Cadillac sub-brand) weren’t interested in marketing the car. Buick secured the car and the Riviera model name survived through 8 generations with the name subsequently being applied to several concepts
Opel, Vauxhall, Holden interchangeability Program, 1963. General Motors Overseas Operations (GMOO) had allowed their subsidiaries in Australia, the UK and Germany to operate independently of each other producing similar model ranges that had nothing in common. GM’s vice-president of styling, Bill Mitchell, headed a project in the early 60s that sort to homogenise the 3 brands with variations on common styling and bodywork. The program envisaged small, medium and larges models with each division having responsibility for one, Vauxhall were to take the lead in design and development of the small car, Opel the medium and Holden the large. The full-size mock-up was Holden’s version of the medium car that would have become a Holden Torana in 1968. The large model would have become the HK Holden Kingswood/Premier, Vauxhall’s Cresta/Viscount and Opel’s Kapitan/Admiral/Dipomat all powered by Holden’s 6-in-line and then new 4.2 litre V8. The program was handed over to GMOO who promptly shelved it and let the divisions carry on going their own way throughout the 60s. It was in the 1970s that GM’s World Car program began to achieve what Bill Mitchell had started. Flash forward 50 years the Holden division is dead and Opel/Vauxhall are now part of the Stellantis empire rather than GM.
Buick Century X, 1956. A one-off that was built for Bill Mitchell, GM director of styling. The car included 225 unique features including power swivelling seats
Cadillac XP-825 Concept, 1964. The prototype for the 6th generation Eldorado that was used to test market reaction. Designed under GM styling chief Bill Mitchell, the Eldorado of 1967 was a radical departure from previous generations adopting front wheel drive and GM’s Unified Powerplant Package shared with Oldsmobile’s Toronado
Buick Riviera, 1971. For the third generation the Riviera was radically redesigned by Jerry Hirshberg under Bill Mitchell’s direction with “boat-tail” rear styling inspired by the 1963 Corvette Sting Ray coupe. Riviera sales for 1971 dropped to 33,810, the lowest since the model’s introduction is in 1963. Meanwhile Jerry Hirshberg would go to become head of design for Nissan Design International (NDI), based in La Jolla, California
Chevrolet Corvette Aero Coupé, 1969. A show car created by GM’s VP of design Bill Mitchell that previewed some of the 1970 ½ styling changes for the C3 Corvette. It was also repowered by a 427ci ZL1 all-aluminium Can-Am V8 with an experimental Rochester fuel-injection system. The same car was developed into the 1970 Corvette Scirocco and 1974 Mulsanne concepts
Why didn’t they make it? Part 5: Oldsmobile Toronado XP-866, 1967. When the Toronado was revealed to the public in October of 1965, it was a triumph for General Motors, both for its front-drive engineering and for its fresh, dramatic styling. GM’s design vice president Bill Mitchell saw potential for development of Toronado derivatives and proposed a shortened (by 10 inches) sportier 2 seat version. It began as a ’67 model, but was later updated with the ’69 model’s heavy chrome bumper/grille surround. However GM’s management saw the car as too close in size to the Chevrolet Camaro and Pontiac Firebird and didn’t want to create internal competition for their new pony-car.
50 years young - Buick Riviera Silver Arrow III, 1972. Designed by Bill Mitchell based on a production Riviera with a lower roofline and redesigned quarter windows. It also featured a traction control system and antilock brakes, items we take for granted now but 50 years ago they were cutting edge tech
Chevrolet Aerovette Concept, 1976. The mid-engined Aerovette was actually the 1973 Corvette 4-Rotor concept fitted with a transversally mounted 400ci V8 after General Motors had abandoned their rotary engine program. Lobbying from Vice President of Design, Bill Mitchell got the Aerovette approved for production as a 1980 model. However GM’s management reversed their decision over concerns about how much it would cost to productionize the mid-engined concept and the fact that the front-engined C3 Corvette continued to sell well
Buick Silver Arrow 1, 1963. A show car created by and for General Motors Vice President of Styling Bill Mitchell, based on a production 1963 Riviera. The roof was lowered and the front fenders lengthened several inches to house the concealed headlights. The car served as a personal vehicle for Mitchell when not being shown,
Cadillac Fleetwood Eldorado, 1967. The 8th generation Eldorado was designed under GM styling chief Bill Mitchell and was a radical departure from previous generations switching to front wheel drive and GM’s Unified Powerplant Package it shared with the Oldsmobile Toronado. It was the only production Cadillac equipped with concealed headlights