Led by company president Harlow Curtice in the mid-to-late 1940s, Buick solidified an enviable reputation for luxury, refinement, superior engineering, and surprisingly affordable performance, becoming a genuine rival to its fellow General Motors division, Cadillac. The top-of-the-line Limited model of 1940 was offered in two distinct lines, with the Series 80 being on the 133-inch-wheelbase platform and featuring handsome open and closed body styles. Like all upper-series Buicks, this season came with the potent 320-cubic-inch straight eight with “Compound Carburetion,” or dual carburetors. It was the last season for this particular model, due to Cadillac’s complaints and to being more than twice the cost of more basic Buicks. The Limited as a whole would last only for one more season.

The elegant Series 80 Limited Convertible Phaeton offered here was one of 250 built in 1940 in this design, the 81C with the distinctive “trunkback” rear end accommodating additional luggage space. According to research of the late Richard Bury, it is believed to be one of fewer than 15 in existence. As body number 235, it was one of the last produced.

Thoroughly restored in prior ownership, the car is finished in the year-correct color of Royal Maroon and is fairly loaded with options and accessories, including dual Pilot Ray lights, dual side-mounted spares with full covers and running boards—both in their last year with Buick—rear fender skirts, and pushbutton radio. The interior is nicely finished in pleated tan leather, still showing extremely well, as does the dashboard and instrumentation. The odometer at the time of cataloguing reflected 92,380 miles.

Late-production Limited models such as this are among the few Buicks recognized as Full Classics by the Classic Car Club of America, thanks to their scale, rarity, and power. They are known for their excellent performance, reliability, and ease of use on the CCCA’s long-distance CARavans. Of course, it would also be eligible for and warmly welcomed to Antique Automobile Club of America events, or make a very suitable parade vehicle, or simply for carrying one’s family with the top down under the sun. Bring it back to Hershey, open it up, and enjoy.