Riv wins Riddler

[nickleone]

Heck of a job.

Nick

[JOES66FURY]

not for me, but I can appreciate the time and effor put into it....detail is impressive.

[langleylad]

It sure is unique , I'm going to have to see this one close up . That a boy homie !

[CTX-SLPR]

I want see more of the car (I'll just skip right past the LS3) before I give an opinion on it. Proud a '64 Riv won but not sure I like it from that one picture.

[JOES66FURY]

click on the picture, it will take you to a gallery

[squirrel]

Interesting how a car that's so aesthetically challenged, can win such a prestigious award.

[JOES66FURY]

there is no accounting for taste.

[CTX-SLPR]

click on the picture, it will take you to a gallery

Noted and picking it apart (again skipping the engine)

Gallery: http://ca.autos.yahoo.com/photos/201...569387075.html

Gripes first (mainly because some of these just jump out at me and ruin the good, which there is a good amount of though)
1. Door Frames... The Riviera was the first car in the world with completely frameless windows, no chrome edges, nothing. Adding a door frame is just plain silly on a show car, in the real world I could potentially see it as a move to reduce wind noise and improve sealing.
2.That Yellow is one of the most awful colours I can think of for the car. If you want bright "hyper car colours" Ferrari Red would be very nice and personally... as bright of a White as possible would also look stunning.
3. "Body Kit" the rockers have been lowered and there is that silly airdam looking thing on the front. The rockers could have worked beautifully but I think they messed up the behind the front wheel area, it's jarring not smooth with the wheels as far forward as they are in the wells. The airdam is just a silly mix of rice and the contours of the front bumper, it doesn't add to the aero of the car and looks very tacked on vs. integrated.
4. Pedal box... nicely finished and fits well with the interior as a theme but why does it look like a video game set attached to the floor and what is that panel behind them? I find this particularly poorly executed in terms of being seamless and well integrated
5. Center exhaust... I don't like center exhausts on non-IRS cars and I barely like them on IRS cars because the function of putting them there trumps the style. I don't know if this car has an IRS but the placement where the old license plate area plus the huge chrome/polished aluminum thing that makes it up is horrid. Reminds me of a pair of bedpans mildly reshaped and polished.

On the fence
1. I'm not a big fan of the boattail and I'm a huge fan of the formal coupe styling on the original, however I think that this one was a risky/edgy styling point that actually worked and was well integrated across the entire car.
2. Shifter, it fits the interior theme but I find it silly from a practical stand point. Shrink the pedestal down too 1/2in or so and it'd be great.
3. The chop looks great, which can be hard on a 1 Gen Riv though with the boattail it's easier; however what it does to the seating positions makes the column from outside the car look cartoonishly long and drives what I think is a goofy length on the shifter so you can reach it while driving.

Good stuff
1. Love, love, love how much of the original car is still there but not exactly like Bill Mitchel made it (though I can see some of his Silver Arrow I in the car) like the cowl vents now on the back of the reverse opening hood. The original fake quarter scoops are now on the front fenders and are functional. The original front bumper and turn signal pods are still in place though its hard to tell if they still have the signals in them. Most of the body lines other than the roof and the above mentioned "body kit" are still there as well.
2. I've been eyeballing wheels like that for my '64 Riv for a while though in polished or raw aluminum and I think they work well on the body even without the "body kit".
3. Love the quarter flares, so much so I'm seriously considering asking the guy how much and how he did them.
4. If the vents actually exhaust heat from the engine compartment or duct air to something, brakes, trans cooler, etc, in the rear I'm digging it.
5. I like the tail lights, the roundedness is needed with the other elements in the rear of the car but they are a nice update of the original design and location.
6. Keeping the personal luxury tone of the car. The Riv was a luxury car to drive yourself , not be chauffeured around in; the car is still very lux and while I may object to how they added the performance, they did successfully up the level in parallel.

Overall... I think it's silly looking but actually not far off from making it look awesome with mainly some removal of stuff. Center exhaust being probably the most glaring restyle requirement. Thoughts from a fellow '64 Riviera owner and fairly liberal member of the Riviera Owners Association.

[1970camaroRS]

Nope. Just nope.

Terrible color. Front wheel wells are off. Hate being able to see so much dead space and the reinforcement bar. WTF are they doing with the turbo cold-side piping in the trunk and down the middle of the interior? The chin spoiler looks silly with it mimicking the bumper. The hood looks like it belongs on some JDM drift-mobile. That interior is nice, BUT, why the everyone-does-it billet steering wheel and the shifter that is way too tall? And there's something about the roofline as compared to the rest of the side of the body. They just don't flow well. Looks like two different cars grafted together.

Love the stance, actually like the center exhaust, like the interior fit, finish, materials and color. I really want to see the car with everything closed so you can really see the lines.

Oh, and did I mention how terrible that color is?

[SuperBuickGuy]

I like the overall car, but there's lots of elements I just don't like - the nova tail lights being one of the top ones.
Still, I like the mods they did to the car and can't wait to see it on the ground all closed up and ready to drive.

[Monk]

Not my cup of tea........hate the wheel combo

[DanStokes]

I can't understand why they took one of the most beautiful cars ever built and did THAT to it. I appreciate that they put a ton of work into it and that the craftsmanship is excellent but pretty much everything they did make the car progressively uglier and uglier.

Complete fail in my opinion.

Dan

[Casper]

The car created "Mass Attention" yet nobody is looking at it in any of the pictures... ##### please

[Casper]

Wow.. it appears the n word is potty language...what year is this?

[anotheridiot]

thats terrible. yeah, tons of work, but what is the ride height even? you make stands like are under that car and you dont know if the suspension is hanging or on the floor.