Century first appeared on Buick‘s roster in 1936, the same year that Buick replaced its numeric series names with something more memorable: Special, Century, Roadmaster, and Limited. Century was most meaningful of the new names because it signified the car‘s top speed, and the 1939 Buick Century was accomplished in other areas as well.

Buick renamed its entire model lineup for the 1936 model year to celebrate the engineering improvements and design advancements over their 1935 models. Buick’s Series 40 model range became the Special, the Series 80 became the Roadmaster and the Series 90—Buick’s largest and most luxurious vehicles, became the Limited. The Century took the place of the Series 60.
The basic formula for the 1936 to 1942 Century was established by mating shorter wheelbase Buick Special bodies to Buick’s most powerful eight-cylinder engine.

Often called “the first muscle car” or “the banker’s hot rod,” Century combined the smaller Special body with the 120-horsepower straight eight from the bigger Roadmaster and Limited. The result was an excellent power-to-weight ratio giving a top speed in the vicinity of 100 mph and lively acceleration. At about half the price of an Auburn speedster, the Century was a performance bargain. 

By 1939, the 320-cubic-inch eight was putting out 141 horsepower. That was one more than Cadillac’s most powerful V-8, a fact resented by Cadillac, which thought Buick was getting above its General Motors station.

Buick had several firsts in 1939. The most significant was the industry’s first standard turn-signal lights. Unlike modern turn signals, these were not incorporated into the taillights, but were part of the trunk medallion. Buick also offered the first pushbutton radio tuning that year. New for Buick (but not the industry) was a column shifter that left the front floor unobstructed. The convertible coupe lost its rumble seat and replaced it with interior opera seats behind the front seat.