You can win a 1971 Buick Riviera similar to Guy Lafleur – L’annuel de l’automobile

All of Quebec loved Guy Lafleur. The National Assembly even called him one of the “most loved and beloved Quebecers in our history.” Two years have passed since his death, but hockey fans have not forgotten him. Some have even thought of a way to give Sainte-Flanelle fans a chance to drive a 1971 Buick Riviera similar to the one owned by the Good Spirit.

This 1971 Buick Riviera called “Homage to Guy Lafleur” was presented at the Montreal Auto Show in January. It was the winner of a draw organized for the benefit of the Guy-Lafleur Fund, an organization that contributes to the cancer research center of the University Hospital of Montreal (CHUM).

However, there is still time to win this exclusive prize. To do so, purchase one of the 2,000 tickets that were offered at a cost of $150. The winner will be determined during a drawing that will take place at the Quebec Motor Show on May 5, 2024 at 4:00 p.m. You can find all the details about this program by consulting the drawing page on the Canadian website Rafflebox (https://bit.ly/Riviera10).

Faithful replica

Like Lafleur’s car, this Riviera has a body Grape Red and a white vinyl roof, a combination reminiscent of the uniform color of the Quebec Remparts, his Quebec Major Junior League team. As in 1971, on the front, it sports the plate 4G-4444 consisting of his jersey number and the initials of his first name. However, on the back, the registration “FLWRPWR” (for Flower Power) today is certainly more attractive to the general public.

The man in charge of this project is Pierre Grenon of PG Evaluations, a Boisbriand company. Paul’s brother, René Roy and Sylvain Lalonde brought this Buick back with him. Davie Bélanger, for his part, did the upholstery work.

In 1971, this 6-seat coupe was offered to Canadians starting at $6,163. It was twice the price of the entry-level Buick Skylark. The value of this “Hommage” car, equipped with a 7.5 L (455 cu in) V8 producing 315 hp and a 3-speed automatic transmission, is estimated at $ 92,500; a value close to the $87,600 quote put forward by insurer Hagerty for a third-generation Riviera (1971-1973) in “concours” condition.

“Gift” from Remparts

It must be noted that the story surrounding Guy Lafleur’s Riviera is fascinating to say the least. It was on April 18, 1971 that the Remparts captain received the keys to this coupe. It was presented to him during an identification ceremony organized by the association of Young Sportsmen of Quebec at the Colisée, before the start of the first round of the LMJQ finals.

In the article from Media of March 26, 1983, which highlights the 20 years of existence of this party, the journalist Réal Labbé remembers that the delivery of this Buick has been “the main attraction of this evening”. This seems even more true when we know that the other five Remparts graduates that year had received black and white televisions, and coach Maurice Filion had a color TV!

Why Riviera?

But why did you choose to give the Riviera to the beautiful Pepo? After all, according to the advertising brochures of the time, it was a car for a middle-aged man, not a 19-year-old “boy”!

From April 4, 1971, journalist Guy Émond of Sunday morning explained this option in his section dedicated to hockey. We read: “Since Guy Lafleur’s dad hates sports cars, we’re going to give Guy a Buick Riviera instead of a Corvette next evening in honor of Remparts number 4”.

Furthermore, the profile Guy Lafleur: shadow and light published by Georges-Hébert Germain in Libre Expression, in 1990, confirms that Lafleur originally asked for a Corvette, a very symbolic dream car for him. However, Réjean Lafleur, his father, was strongly opposed. “I don’t want my boy to lose his dirt,” he would say. “Reluctantly, Guy chose the Buick Riviera, more modest, more sensible,” writes the biographer.

A gift that could be a Ferrari or a Rolls

The most interesting part of all this is knowing that this delivery of the car was part of a contract negotiated for Guy Lafleur and Paul Dumont, general manager of Remparts, with the Colibec company. This contract specified that the star player would be entitled to a car “worth at least $6,500″… without, however, putting a ceiling on this value! So Lafleur would have the right to claim a Ferrari or even a Rolls-Royce, recalls Georges-Hébert Germain. But even though he had only chosen a simple Corvette, his father had the last laugh.

The story of this great Buick took an unexpected turn in August 1971, when Lafleur was involved in a traffic accident. While driving towards Quebec on Highway 20, like other drivers around him, he had to suddenly slow down near Saint-Nicolas. But now, the one following him fails to slow down and hits the back of his Riviera.

Article published in Know, on August 28, 1971, we learn that his car sustained approximately $3,000 (in the money of the time) of damage. Fortunately, Lafleur suffered only minor injuries and the daily reports that he will be able to report, as scheduled, to Canadiens training camp in September. He had a narrow escape! He kept this Buick until April 1972 when, on a whim, he traded it in for a brand new Cadillac Eldorado.

Photo: Pierre Grenon/PG Review and General Motors

about the author

His parents say the first three words he said were: mom, dad and … Volvo. We don’t know in what order he told them, but everything indicates that he was pre-selected for a job in the big world of cars. It was through the media that he approached it. Since the 1980s, he has edited various magazines, from VAQ Classic Car Magazine (his “school”) to AutoMag, including the bilingual magazine Formula 2000, not to mention Le Monde de l’auto and Auto Journal. In the early 21st century, he wrote for Le Devoir, as well as for Auto123.com, AutoFocus.ca and Auto.Vtélé.ca. For now, you can read it on the pages of AnnuelAuto.ca and AutoMedia.ca, as well as in AutoMédia magazine. Luc is also one of those who created L’Annuel de l’automobile in 2001.