It doesn’t take long to see there’s something very unusual about this 1971 Buick Electra hardtop. Seen straight from the front, you may perhaps miss it, but move a bit to check out its flanks and you’ll see it, the unmistakable double axle at the rear that makes this a Buick unlike any other. As such, it’s a full-fledged, in working order, six-wheeled curiosity that raises several questions and comes with only speculative answers. And to add to its weirdness, the additional pair of wheels is retractable in truck-like form.
Let’s take a closer look, shall we?
If you get a sense that, after coming across last week’s Airnado, I decided to stick around the web in search of other oddities, I’ll raise my hand and admit: Guilty!
That peculiar Toronado-Airstream motorhome was quite a sight, but as CC readers are well aware, the Toronado’s FWD UPP powerplant makes for easy conversions; it’s, let’s say, a somewhat common platform to play custom-builder with. Shortened, stretched, and six-wheeled Toronados can be easily found, and some have been featured at CC before.
But a 1971 Buick Electra with a retractable additional set of wheels? Well, that must have been quite the undertaking.
As with the Airnado, this curiosity has been around the web for a while, though an FB Marketplace ad from ca. 2023 was the one that gave it more notoriety. Most of the images in this post come from that ad, but here’s an earlier set of photos where the vehicle appears with its original Buick hubcaps.
Online commenters have theorized that the additional wheels are for enhanced towing capabilities. Really? As I understand, a regular Electra could have done that task perfectly fine in factory-spec form (as several of our vintage galleries have shown). Plus, no photo of the vehicle has ever shown a trailer hitch.
A different theory comes from the ad (FWIW), claiming the car was -apparently- built at the request of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT), at a staggering cost of $60,000. The purpose of that experiment? Once again, no direct evidence, although the seller said the extra wheels’ mission was to add traction to RWD vehicles in snowy conditions.
Okaay… Suuure Bob. And what about trunk space?
In any case, whichever the rig’s purpose was, its ideas were eventually tossed away.
Literally. Here’s later, at a junkyard.
The ad didn’t go into too many details of when and what happened to the vehicle, but at some point, the six-wheeler was rescued. That said, it did claim it spent 37 years with the same family (before or after the junkyard?), and that the car’s 455 V-8 accumulated 80,100 miles throughout that time.
Whatever the order of events, the car was in a fairly restored state by the time it went on sale, and it looks like a later owner has kept up with its maintenance and reconditioning. Somewhat recent photos show the car’s curious retractable wheels still in working order.
And here’s the 455 in 4-barrel setup, looking well-taken care of.
So, here’s a 1971 Buick Electra to impress folks at car shows in ways no one expects. Though with that reduced trunk, just make sure to travel light on those trips.
different, but why. I wonder how it handles.
This car was featured on CC back in 2013 (In unrestored condition). Nice to see it restored. https://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/the-mysterious-buick-with-six-wheels-or-not-so-mysterious-at-all/
Yes we did. And there were a few delicious comments, like this one:
This car does exist. I have personally seen it. It is a factory prototype that gm realized was garbage. They actually made around 100, and when they realized it was crap, they pulled all of em off the market and crushed em. But a few escaped. I agree that it is ugly, but buick did try to make this car.
You just can’t make this stuff up…
That is curious. The only Buick with a 1 ton trunk rating? It is hard to imagine a legitimate usage for that second set of wheels. Thanks for sharing.
Assume a straight axle connecting the wheels – so where’s the gas tank?
Presumably, although some sort of trailing arms might be possible. But yes, undoubtedly the gas tank had to be relocated if there’s a straight axle. Trunk? Back seat?
So far, I’ve read absolutely no reason for building this thing. Better traction in the snow? Alot cheaper to buy a Jeep. Better towing capacity? To tow what, a 747?
It would make traction worse in the snow, as the third axle is obviously not powered. So if it was down, it would reduce tractive weight on the driven axle.
What was the owner hauling in the trunk? Gold bars? The corpses of Vinny two chins and Fat Dom??
Having driven tandem axle trucks many times at my truck driving job I wonder if the rearmost axle is simply trailing or actually driven. Trucks are normally trailing unless the driver engages them for traction in the snow. The main reason for the second axle is so the truck can carry more weight. To be driven the forward rear axle will have to be quite elaborate with a short shaft joining the two as power has to pass through to the rearmost axle.
There’s zero reason to think that the third axle is driven. It would be a mechanical nightmare, and the hubs on the third wheels are not as used on driven axles, but look like hubs from a front axle.
I can’t make sense of this on a Buick, but it might make sense on a 1-ton pickup truck. Instead of having a single axle with 4 wheels and tires, there might be a case for a system like this. You would get a better ride when driving empty (or not towing). With the 3rd axle retracted, you’re only wearing out 4 tires, not all six. When you need the extra tow/haul capacity, you lower the 3rd axle.
This is what large trucks do with their tag axles, but the cost-benefit ratio on a typical pickup is grossly out of line. Air suspension or just variable ratio springs would be much cheaper.
Reminds me of the similar 6-wheel car General Burkhalter always arrived at Stalag 13 in in “Hogan’s Heroes”. Sort of implied he was so fat (Klink once called him a “nasty tub of lard” when he didn’t realize that the General was standing right behind him lol) that he required an extra heavy duty car to handle his ponderous bulk. This Buick is beyond the pale with no reason to exist.
This is a perfect example of when someone has a brain fart and then decides to actually execute it. There is zero logic behind it, and lots of negatives. But someone didn’t bother with that mental calculation.
I have to wonder if this Buick was a test mule for the upcoming GMC Motorhome. Maybe a tag axle was being considered but then axed.
As Paul said, this car makes no sense from an engineering standpoint so I highly doubt that GM made it.
The Buick Electra 225 had a lot of inner city street cred at the time and was known as a “deuce and a quarter” i.e. 225. I think this is a homebuilt custom and maybe at one time it had the trunk mounted TV antenna which was a thing as well. Predates the whole Superfly thing which took it to another level.
There is even a paean to the genre, albeit referencing a Cadillac. “Be Thankful for What You’ve Got” by William DeVaughn circa 1974.
My theory is that someone got snowed into a fabrication shop all winter with a Lincoln welder, a torch and an unlimited supply of alcohol and mind altering drugs. Makes as much sense as a 6 wheel Electra.
Then comes spring. Hey ya’ll. Lookee what I made! The hangover for both the creator and the Buick must have been epic.
I know! It was the prototype used by GM Truck and Coach to test out the retractable axle on the PD-4903 intercity coaches.
Bingo!
GAH .
One more proof that just because you can do a thing, doesn’t mean you should .
-Nate