Buick's beautiful Blackhawk concept

Pasteiner’s enthusiasm for the Blackhawk matches Doble’s.

"This is the ultimate Buick custom car," Pasteiner said. "We used the 1939 grille because it is one of the most significant in Buick history. Those vertical bars are hints of the grilles that became Buick icons in the ‘40s and early ‘50s. The grille sets the tone for the Blackhawk. But we also liked the ‘torpedo’ body from the top-of-the-line Buicks of the 1940s."

Said Doble: "We wanted the best from Buick history, but also we wanted to create a contemporary design. For example, the Blackhawk has a split windshield, which is right for that era – yet the windshield glass is curved, a more modern feature. Even the side glass is curved." Hand-made components

Many of the Blackhawk’s major components are hand made, such as the frame, the unique carbon-fiber top and the retractable system that lowers the top into the trunk (leaving a small luggage area).

Other features include a fully independent suspension, remote keyless entry (so you can open the doors, which don’t have exterior handles) and dual exhaust with three-inch pipes. The Blackhawk is equipped with 18-inch five-spoke alloy wheels (a style similar to those on uplevel Rivieras, Wildcats and Skylarks of ’65) with high speed, Z-rated tires -- P295/35R18 on the front and P295/45R18 on the rear.

As an accent complementing the exterior design, a slightly different shade of dark cherry is used to create a "sweepspear" along the sides of the body. The sweepspear is a decoration that first showed up on some ’49 Roadmasters and later became a shape sculpted into the sides of ‘50s Buicks. It’s basically a horizontal line that sweeps in a downward curve along the doors toward the base of the leading edge of the rear fender, then kicks up over the rear wheel openings. It’s a look that reappeared in the 1999 Cielo and 2000 LaCrosse concepts, both Doble projects.

Emphasizes industry first for Buick: Lighted turn signals

While the Blackhawk looks to be from somewhere in time, it’s hard to pin down where. Borrowed from the same 1939 Buick that donated the grille, a lighted logo device in the middle of the trunk exterior incorporates turn signals – a reminder that this particular ’39 Buick feature was the industry’s first production turn signal. Borrowed from contemporary technology, the Blackhawk is equipped with Global Positioning System navigation tied to a liquid crystal display screen.

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