Buick Century, 1936
Buick renamed its entire model lineup for the 1936 model year to celebrate the engineering improvements and design advancements over their 1935 models. Buick's Series 40 model range became the Special, the Series 80 became the Roadmaster and the Series 90—Buick's largest and most luxurious vehicles, became the Limited. The Century took the place of the Series 60.
The basic formula for the 1936 to 1942 Century was established by mating shorter wheelbase Buick Special bodies to Buick's eight-cylinder engine. While the Special was powered by Buick's 233 in³ was rated 93 hp at 3200 rpm, Centuries produced between 1936 to 1942 were powered by Buick's inline 320.2 in³ at 120 hp, making them the fastest Buicks of the era and capable of sustained speeds of 95 mph plus, earning the Century the nickname "banker's hotrod".
The Century was discontinued at the end of the abbreviated 1942 model year, during which total model production only accounted for about ten percent of Buick's total output.
The basic formula for the 1936 to 1942 Century was established by mating shorter wheelbase Buick Special bodies to Buick's eight-cylinder engine. While the Special was powered by Buick's 233 in³ was rated 93 hp at 3200 rpm, Centuries produced between 1936 to 1942 were powered by Buick's inline 320.2 in³ at 120 hp, making them the fastest Buicks of the era and capable of sustained speeds of 95 mph plus, earning the Century the nickname "banker's hotrod".
The Century was discontinued at the end of the abbreviated 1942 model year, during which total model production only accounted for about ten percent of Buick's total output.
