1972 Buick Riviera Silver Arrow III

The 1972 Silver Arrow III Buick Riviera concept was designed by Bill Mitchell and introduced at the 1972 Detroit Auto Show. Based on a production Riviera equipped with a 455 V8 engine, the car received many new features, including a lower roofline and redesigned quarter windows. Other advanced details included high level warning lights that doubled as secondary turn signals, six square halogen headlights up front for better visibility during nighttime driving and four wheel anti-lock brakes. To maximize traction, the Silver Arrow III, like all Rivieras of 1971, was equipped with Max Trac, a forerunner of today’s traction control systems.

Inside, the Silver Arrow was equipped with a plush, silver leather interior highlighted with black piping. Driver comfort was aided with adjustable brake and accelerator pedals and tilt and telescopic steering wheel. Equipped with these features, no horizontal adjustment was needed for the driver seat.

There were actually two more versions of the Silver Arrow III. The Silver Arrow I and Silver Arrow II incorporated unspecified, but relatively minor, changes to the production Riviera.