1935 Buick Sport Coupe - Model 96S 🇺🇸

Only 41 model 96S Sport Coupe were manufactured in 1935, just 30% of the number made in 1934. Of those 41 cars, one was built for export.  We do not know where that car was exported to, who owned the car or what happened to it.  We do know that in immediate post World-War II Italy, American cars were common on the streets of Rome and a nine-year-old Nicola Bulgari saw either a 1934 or 35 Buick 96S on the streets of Rome.  To this day, Mr. Bulgari says he can close his eyes and see that car. He said that he had never seen a more beautiful car before and he learned everything he could about it, even finding an original sales brochure.

Jump to 1999,  locating a 1935 96S has been a priority of the NB Center for years and finally this car appeared. By all accounts, it was the last surviving example of the year and model. The car was in rough condition, it needed to be restored but had to be saved.

The decision was made to fully restore the car for the 100th anniversary of Buick at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in 2003. While that sounds like a lot of time, the restoration shop had never done a car for Pebble Beach before and this car would require a lot of work while posing a big challenge for finding missing parts. Unforeseen delays such as a dock workers strike, held up progress even more. The job ran literally to the very last minute with the team working around the clock for weeks to get the car ready to go on the transport truck. Some of the very final details were completed in the parking lot outside of the show grounds.

The judges were duly impressed with the finished car. It was ultimately called to the podium and awarded second place in a class full of perfectly restored Buicks. Today this car holds a special place in the collection. When guests ask which car is Mr. Bulgari’s favorite, this car gets the nod. 

Company
General Motors

Make
Buick

Model
35-96S

Body Style
Sport Coupe , 2-door, 4-pass.

Body Manufacture
Fisher Body Company

Model year
1935

Wheelbase
136 inches

Length
N/A

Engine
inline-8, OHV,  344.8 cid

Horsepower
116 bhp @ 3200 rpm

Transmission
3-speed manual

Original Base Price
$1,875

Brand Production
48,256 + 4,993 export, model year

This Car Production
41

For 1935 Buick carried over almost everything as if it was a continuation of 1934. What few changes were made to the cars amounted to small trim changes and new colors. Buick was banking on its radically restyled and newly engineered 1936 cars and could not commit resources to the 1935 model year. This strategy didn’t help sales with approximately 53, 249 cars produced for the 1935 model year. But, since production and sales of new model year cars begin in the previous calendar year, the impact of the new 1936 cars would make the 1935 calendar year sales figures look like a big jump over 1934.

The intricacies of counting automobile production aside, 1935 was nothing more than a placeholder in Buick history as far as the cars were concerned.  But it was a pivotal year behind the scenes. Harlow Curtice took the reins of Buick in October 1933, too late to influence the 1934 cars, and subsequently the 1935 cars. But he got right to the business of fixing Buicks business problems. First he took back control of Buick distribution and sales from Pontiac. Buick, Pontiac and Oldsmobile were combined into a single sales organization in the late 1920’s in what was seen as a cost cutting move and getting rid of the redundant sales organizations. The problem with this arrangement was that it removed the personal touch from the Buick distribution channels. It also meant that managers didn’t care which brand was selling cars as long as they sold cars, an arrangement that favored whichever brand was strongest at the expense of the weakest. The upshot was Buick sales slid. Curtice took back control of Buick and rebuilt the sales and distribution network in 1934-35. He also went on a serious cost cutting mission, adjusting the number and type of body styles, transferring cost risks to suppliers, stepping up the sharing of parts with other GM brands and directing engineers and designers to reduce the number of parts.

All of these background moves would serve well when the 1936 model Buicks were finally released.  Curtice would throw everything Buick had at the development of the new cars. It was a big risk and bold move that would either make Buick great again or seal its demise. In the meantime, 1935 would not be a glorious year for Buick.