The winner of the fourth heat of the Footman James Car of the Year competition is this magnificent 1968 Buick Electra 225. It’s the kind of all original, time-warp condition car that every classic American fan dreams of acquiring. Belonging to Nigel Perring, the Buick only has around 13,000 miles on the clock and was bought new from Ramme Buick in the evocatively named Coal City, Illinois – Obviously it has a thing for coal country, as it now resides in Abergavenny, Wales.
Nigel believes much of the car’s paint to be original, and the immaculate condition of the brocade interior, carpets and pristine dash suggest it has lead a very pampered life, quite possibly never seeing a winter outdoors. Power comes from a beefy 430 cu in V8 which offers 360bhp and 475lb ft. of torque.
Buicks like this came with a whole host of standard equipment as they were the standard bearer of the division; things like finned aluminium front brake drums, power-steering and power brakes and of course Super Turbine automatic transmission. However, whilst the car is optioned with items like the brocade interior, power seats and Speed Alert, it has wind-up windows and no air conditioning, so is a little unusual from that point of view.
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