The 1963 Buick Special body was only produced for one year. (GM)
General Motors promoted the 1963 Buick Special for its “unique, compact 3.5-liter all-aluminum V-8 engine.” The 215-cubic-inch engine gave the Special one of the highest horsepower-per-liter ratios of its day: 0.93:1.
The engine had a power rating of 155-hp with the two-barrel carburetor. When equipped with the optional four-barrel carburetor horsepower rose to 190-hp, according to Wikipedia.
Transmission choices were a three-speed column shift manual transmission, a floor shift Borg-Warner T-10 four-speed manual, or a two-speed Turbine Drive automatic. The two-speed “Dual Path Turbine Drive” automatic was a Buick design and shared no common parts with the better-known Chevrolet Power-Glide transmission.
In 1961, the Buick Special debuted a brand new unibody compact GM Y platform. And in 1962, the Special was the first American car to use a V-6 engine in volume production, earning its Motor Trend’s Car of the Year for 1962.
The 1963 Special was available as a two-door pillared hardtop coupe, a four-dour sedan, a convertible, and a station wagon.
The 1963 body was only produced for one year, selling 148,750 copies, including 42,321 Skylarks. The entire car was redesigned for 1964.
The Buick 215
After that, the Buick 215 V-8 found its way into the Rover P6 3500S in 1968 but was never sold in North America in any great numbers.
The engine was used, however, in other British cars. The V-8 was used in the Morgan Plus 8, MG MGB GTV8, Land Rover, and Triumph TR8. It was also retrofitted into MGAs and MGBs.
The Buick engine had really earned its stripes as being the sole engine powering the Range Rover for a couple of decades, according to the Wiki page. Eventually, the V-8 found its way into the original Series/Defender Land Rover. The engine also was used in several other Land Rover Models including the Discovery and the Forward Control (Army vehicle).
