By BRIAN BRENNAN Artwork By Bo Zolland Design

his month our Parting Shot looks at what could have been. There is no denying that the Buick Riviera, or Rivi, is an iconic design. The ’63 Buick Riviera is one of the hot rod world’s favorites, especially when equipped with the optional 340hp 425-inch Nailhead. The Buick Rivi is also one of the few examples of hot rod material that is best left in its original design state. It is a supreme car builder who can improve on this iconic factory look.

Well, we touched bases with one of our favorite artists Bo Zolland of Bo Zolland Design in Sweden. He’s no stranger to Modern Rodding, having penned several products for us in the past. This month we asked him to give us a look at what a ’63 Buick Riviera might look like if it were a convertible and featured a few hot rod touches.

What popped out of Zolland’s fertile imagination is a cool looking custom with a performance flair. Remember the ’63 Buick Riviera, a two-door Sport Coupe, was originally designed by Jock Twombley working with Bill Mitchell to be an addition to the Cadillac line, but Buick needed a boost, hence the switch.

While we don’t often think of the Buick Riviera as a muscle car, the fact is it was designed to be both a luxury car but with a sporty design and performance. (Buick was going after the Ford Thunderbird.) In 1963 there were two V-8s offered; standard was the 401-inch sporting 325 hp while the optional 425-inch V-8 offered 340 hp. Both came with 10.25:1 compression and dual exhausts while the 401 had a Rochester 4GC four-barrel and the 425 was equipped with a Carter AFB. Ah, the days of good gas. (It was late in the ’66 model year that Buick offered the factory-installed Super Wildcat “MZ” code, which supplied dual fours for the 425. That year only, 179 of these ’66 Rivi GS coupes were built.)

In Zolland’s mind his freshly created Buick Riviera should be built with a fuel-injected 455 V-8 and at least 505 hp to the rear wheels, all helped along by a 4L80 overdrive. Of course, all of this would be sitting on an Art Morrison chassis with coilover suspension, a 9-inch rearend, Wilwood six-piston caliper disc brakes, 17-inch billet wheels reminiscent of the original Buick factory orbs and wrapped with 235/45R17 and 215/45R17 rubber.

As for the sheetmetal, the single most obvious modification is the removal of the roof. This truly actuates the design of a long and low ride. This is followed by the reworking of the frontend through more of a sharp angle, yielding a more aggressive look. Next up Zolland shows us what the Rivi might also look like with the windshield leaned back a bit as well as lower. The last noticeable modifications are the slightly raised wheelwell openings.

Inside is a reworked interior that will have reworked-leather-wrapped bucket seats, a custom dash with Classic Instruments gauges from the Custom Shop, a touch screen entertainment system complete with GPS, and Vintage Air heating and A/C. Since the ’63 Rivi has a “space-age” center console it should be retained and now house a Lokar shifter to operate the modern-day trans.

We couldn’t pass this factoid up, but it’s been reported that Elvis, yes that Elvis (a lifelong Cadillac owner), once owned a ’63 Buick Rivi, the one and only Buick he owned.

Just in case you are thinking about something for your next project how about a Buick Riviera, and, maybe, a ’63 convertible.

The absence of the roof visible in this profile rendering truly gives the ’63 Buick Riviera a long and low-slung appearance.

The rearview shows off the interior and the roomy interior with its custom bucket seats and reworked dashboard.