Top 10 Most Beautiful Cars at the GM Heritage Center
If you’re a General Motors fan, a trip to the GM Heritage Center in Sterling Heights, Michigan, is a must. It gathers a collection of about 600 cars and trucks. That includes production vehicles, concepts, one-offs and some very rare metal. Here are only 10 examples of what can be drooled over at the GM Heritage Center.
1953 Buick Skylark
The brand celebrated their 50th anniversary by creating the Skylark, a big and luxurious convertible based on the Buick Roadmaster platform. Powered by a 188-hp, 5.3-litre V8 engine. Only 1640 units of the 1953 model were produced.
1956 GMC Suburban Pickup
A pickup sold from 1955 to 1957, the Suburban was essentially a GMC version of the Chevrolet Cameo. It featured fiberglass fenders attached to a steel cargo box. Powered by a 180-hp, 5.2-litre V8. About 1000 units of the GMC Suburban pickup were produced from 1955 to 1957.
1957 Chevrolet Nomad
One of the rare two-door station wagons, the Nomad was produced from 1955 to 1957, before a changeover to four doors. Powered by a 220-hp, 4.6-litre V8. Only 6103 units were produced in 1957, and 22,375 copies were built during its three-year run.
1959 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz Convertible
This luxoyacht stood out with its huge rear fins, a styling cue that was trendy during the 50s, but died out soon thereafter. Gas-filled shock absorbers and cruise control appeared for the first time on a Cadillac in 1959. Its very high price limited sales, which means it’s a very collectible car. Powered by a 345-horsepower, 6.4-litre V8.
1963 Chevrolet Corvette Sting Ray Coupe
The first Corvette coupe produced by GM, it is remembered for its famous split rear window that appeared only in 1963, which makes the car very valuable. It was built on a new chassis with an independent rear suspension. Powered by a 360-hp, 5.4-litre V8. About 10,600 units of the Corvette coupe were produced in 1963.
1964 Pontiac Tempest LeMans GTO
Arguably the vehicle that started the muscle car era, or the strategy of stuffing a big engine in a small (at the time, anyway) car. The GTO package was a popular choice, as it equipped 32,450 Tempests in 1964. Powered by a 325-hp, 6.4-litre V8—a 348-hp engine was also offered.
1967 Chevrolet Camaro Indy 500 Pace Car
The Camaro was GM’s answer to the immensely popular Ford Mustang, and was introduced in 1967 as a coupe and a convertible. Eight different engines were offered in the 1967 edition, ranging from a straight-six to a 396-cubic-inch V8. The Indy 500 Pace Car was a Camaro SS with the RS appearance package, which included concealed headlights. Powered by a 375-hp, 6.5-litre V8.
1970 Buick GSX 2 Door Hardtop
The Buick Skylark was the first model to bear the Gran Sport badge in 1965, but the GSX appeared in 1970 with a big-block V8, a Ram-Air hood and a sport suspension. Only 678 units of the GSX were built that year, of which 500 were painted Saturn Yellow and 178 were painted Apollo White. Powered by a 350-hp, 7.5-litre V8.
1972 Oldsmobile Indianapolis 500 Pace Car
Oldsmobiles were chosen 11 times as the Indy 500 Pace Car from 1949 to 2001, one of those being this Hurst/Olds Cutlass 4-4-2. About 630 replicas of the pace car were built, 130 of them of them being convertibles. Of that number, only 10 units of the Hurst convertibles had received the W30 package, which meant a nastier engine and a ram-air hood. Powered by a 300-hp, 7.5-litre V8.
1976 Buick Estate Wagon
Weighing in at more than 5000 pounds, the Estate Wagon was the ultimate family hauler before minivans and SUVs came along. Its cargo area offered 3002 litres of volume, or nearly as much as in a 2017 Buick Enclave. When opened, the tailgate slid into the car’s underbody, while the rear window lifted upwards into the roof. Powered by a 205-hp, 7.5-litre V8.