Large engines, bulky design and massive road presence are some of the things that would come running to your mind when you think of an American vehicle. These traits were not just limited to SUVs alone. We have seen examples of many American sedan that look huge on the road. Many of these American sedans were not officially available in India. However, people who could actually afford them have imported some of them to the country. India has a decent number of imported cars and one of them is a Buick LeSabre. What makes this car special is that it was a car that once ferried former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in it.
The information related to this car has been shared by Vroom Head on their website. The Buick LeSabre we are discussing here in this article is a 1976 model fourth-generation sedan. Buick LeSabre is actually a very rare car to be spotted in India. It is probably the only example in the country. It was initially launched in 1959 as a successor to Buick Special sedan. The LeSabre was a much sleeker looking saloon than the Special. It was available in 2-door convertible, 2-door & 4-door sedan, hardtop, and station wagon formats. The car seen here is the facelifted version of the fourth generation LeSabre which came with minor changes like rectangular headlamps instead of round, an independent front grille with egg crate like design, pillarless hardtop body style and so on.
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The car was actually imported to Kerala via Delhi. The original registration of this sedan is DEB 4389. The car was imported by the state government to be used as an official vehicle by the VIPs and leaders visiting the state. The car was used by former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi multiple times when she visited the state during her tenure. Former Prime Minister Charan Singh has also used this Buick LeSabre during his visit. Other than the Prime Ministers, this American sedan has also ferried Kerala Chief Ministers like K Karunakaran and EK Nayanar. This Buick LeSabre was used as their official vehicle during their tenure.
Like any other American sedan, Buick LeSabre also offered an extremely spacious and comfortable cabin. It also came with many premium features for a car of that era like dual airbags. The car provided a very plush and comfortable seat at the rear and it came with a massive 476 litres of boot space. This LeSabre is currently not being used and is preserved as a showpiece at the Thycaud Government guest house.
In terms of dimensions, LeSabre is a huge sedan and in order to drive this boat-like car around, you need a massive engine under the hood. The LeSabre was available with a 5.7 litre V8, 7.5 litre V8 and a 3.8 litre V6 engine options. The one seen here in the images used a 7.5 litre V8 engine that generated 208 Ps and 468 Nm of peak torque. It is mated to a 3-speed automatic transmission and all the power is sent to the rear wheels.
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