Buick’s 1955 models received major revisions particularly to the front and rear. The front grille now sported a center ornament and it was the first time since World War Two that they hadn’t used vertical bars on the grille. At the rear there were the beginnings of a fin with large chrome taillight housings. At the side the familiar “Sweepspear” was still there from the previous year.
We can see these great new lines in this lovely Century 2-door Riviera Hardtop.
The Century featured four ventiports on the front fenders, as did the Super and Roadmaster – the Special featured only three.
![side view showing the 4 ventiports on a 1955 Buick Century](https://www.carsandstripes.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/1955-buick-century-side.jpg)
Both the Century and Special shared the slightly smaller Buick wheelbase at 112 inches. They came in at a total length of 206.7 inches.
![beautiful interior of a 1955 Century](https://www.carsandstripes.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/1955-buick-century-interior.jpg)
This was Buick’s high performance vehicle. This was achieved because it had the lighter body of the Special but with the bigger engine of the Super and Roadmaster.
![instrument panel of a 1955 Buick Century](https://www.carsandstripes.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/1955-buick-century-instrument-panel.jpg)
Power comes from a 322 cubic inch Fireball V8 with 4-barrel carburetor producing 236 horsepower. This is paired with a Variable Pitch Dynaflow Drive automatic transmission (a $193 option) that was the new and improved version for 1955. Not only was it more efficient, slashing acceleration times, but was more fuel efficient too.
![322 Fireball V8 Buick engine from 1955](https://www.carsandstripes.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/1955-buick-322v8.jpg)
Buick made a total of 80,338 2-door Century Riviera for the 1955 model year. This car would have had a base price of $2,601 when new. The original owner, in addition to the the Dynaflow transmission mentioned above, opted for power steering at $108 and an AM radio at $120.
This 1955 Buick Century is currently for sale on eBay. (follow the link for lots more photos)