While modern muscle cars are in a race to achieve ever-higher horsepower numbers through ever-smaller engine packages, today's big-bang-for-your-buck cars from American manufacturers can all trace their lineage back to an important historical ancestor: the Buick Regal Grand National.
Built between 1982-1987, the Buick Regal Grand National was conceived as a performance shot in the arm for Buick at a time when the brand was mostly known for building luxurious, sturdy, low-excitement sedans. As such, the Buick Grand National was instantly recognized as something very special in the low-horsepower 1980s; a decade when it looked like spiraling gas prices, an industry-wide shift to front-wheel-drive cars, and performance-choking emissions equipment had permanently killed off the muscle car.
Read on for ten fun facts about the Buick Grand National, the iconic 1980s coupe that single-handedly kicked off the most recent wave of America's ongoing love affair with performance and speed. When you're through, come see us at McLarty Daniel Buick GMC, where our great selection, honest deals and service after the sale will make you a customer for life!Browse Our New Buick Lineup Here
1) The Buick Regal Grand National debuted at the 1982 Daytona 500, not as the fire-breathing performance car it would become, but as an appearance package for the Buick Regal, featuring two-tone paint in grey and black, a T-top roof with removable panels, a rear spoiler, a console-mounted shifter, bucket seats and special turbine-style alloy rims. Under the hood was a 4.1-liter V6 producing an anemic 125 horsepower. How many Grand Nationals were made? With only 215 examples produced, the 1982 Grand National is the rarest of all Buick Regal Grand National models.
2) Also released in 1982 alongside the Buick Grand National package was the even rarer 1982 Buick LeSabre Grand National, with only 112 examples produced. Though it was front wheel drive, with only a non-turbo four-cylinder under the hood, there was one thing the 1982 Buick LeSabre Grand National did share with the "true" Buick Grand Nationals produced between 1984-1987: an all-black color scheme, with blacked-out chrome trim.
3) The turbo V6 that eventually made its way into the 1984-1987 Buick Regal Grand National traces its lineage back to a surprising source: a demonstration project for a local chapter of the Boy Scouts of America. In 1973, a young Buick engineer named Ken Baker started a Boy Scout Explorer program at Buick, with the goal of exposing young Scouts to automotive engineering. As their first project, Baker chose to turbocharge a new Buick V6 test engine to show the Scouts how performance could be gained through forced air intake. The horsepower boost gained from by adding a turbo was surprising even for Buick engineers, and the project soon morphed into a super high-output turbo V6 concept engine. Over the course of the next ten years, that research led to the development of the 3.8-liter turbo V6 installed in the 1984-1987 Buick Grand National.
4) The first "true" Grand National, clad in the model's iconic gloss black with pretty much zero chrome trim, debuted in 1984 and was instantly hailed as a triumph of performance by the automotive press. Pumping out a then-stout 200 horsepower and 300 pound feet of torque, the rear-wheel drive, 3.8-liter turbo coupe could blast through the quarter mile in 15.9 seconds. The same year, Chevrolet's flagship performance car, the more expensive 1984 Corvette, was producing only five more horsepower than the Buick Grand National and ten fewer pound feet of torque, with the Corvette only eight-tenths of a second faster than the Buick in the quarter mile. This shot over Chevy's bow would set off a horsepower rivalry between the engineers of the Corvette and the Grand National that would last until the mighty 1987 Buick Regal GNX served as the Grand National model's swan song.The First Concept Car: The 1938 Buick Y-Job
5) In 1986, Buick added an air-to-air intercooler and more turbo boost for an extra 35 horsepower and 30 pound feet of torque. It was the first time the Buick Grand National bested the base-model Corvette in horsepower, producing five more ponies than the 'Vette. With the deeper-breathing turbo and intercooler, the 1986 Regal Grand National had a 0-60 time of 4.8 seconds, a full second faster than the same year Corvette, and could run the quarter mile in 13.7 seconds.
6) In their April 1986 review of the latest Buick Grand National, Car and Driver magazine found that their test model was actually producing 290 horsepower instead of the advertised 235, suggesting that Buick had purposefully low-balled the reported output of the turbo V6 in order to keep the cost of car insurance less expensive for Grand National owners. As Car and Driver noted in their review, their testing further showed the 1986 Buick Regal Grand National was quicker in the quarter mile than all by a handful of the most powerful Ferrari and Porsche street cars — and even faster than the legendary Lamborghini Countach.
7) When Buick's move to front-drive cars and Chevrolet's desire to preserve the Corvette's reputation as the ultimate GM performance model threatened the Buick Grand National program, Buick engineers decided to go out with a bang in 1987, producing not only the standard, 245-horsepower Grand National but also the super-high output 1987 Buick GNX. Featuring performance suspension and engine tuning by Indy race car builder ASC McLaren, the 1987 Buick GNX was similar to the standard Grand National on the outside, other than special badging. All the magic was under skin, including a turbo intercooled 3.8-liter V6 putting out a reported 276 horsepower (many say real horsepower numbers were well over 300) and a massive 360 pound feet of torque. 20,740 Grand Nationals were built in 1987, with only 547 converted to limited-edition Regal GNX models.
8) Every 1987 Buick GNX built was assigned a unique production number that was prominently engraved on special plates attached to various parts of the car, including the dash and the fan shroud under the hood, with an aluminum heat shield around the turbo also bearing the GNX logo. Due to their extreme rarity, GNX models are highly coveted by collectors today. in 2015, a super low-mileage 1987 Buick Regal GNX sold at auction in Palm Beach, Florida for $165,000.Check Out the 1991-1992 GMC Syclone
9) The original buyer of every 1987 Buick Regal GNX received a special jacket created by race-team provider Molly Designs of Irvine, California, bearing the embroidered GNX logo on the front and back. Often lost, given away or worn out and discarded by the original owners, these jackets are extremely rare and collectable today, with genuine, mint-condition examples fetching up to $4,000 from collectors.
10) With a reported 360 pound feet of torque under the hood, the 1987 Buick Regal GNX needed an engineering assist to keep from roasting the tires off the line, which would result in a slower quarter-mile time and top speed. That assist came in the form of a special, GNX-only rear-end housing, developed by ASC McLaren, which featured a hinged torque arm that used the weight of the car's body to plant the tires on takeoff. During a dragstrip launch, the torque-arm system pushed the rear wheels of the 1987 GNX into the pavement with over a ton of downward force, for near-zero wheel slip and rocket sled-like launches.We hope learned something new from these cool facts about the 1987 Buick Grand National! To learn more about Buick's latest vehicles, swing by McLarty Daniel Buick GMC in Bentonville, Arkansas! Our team would be thrilled to help you find the perfect SUV or crossover for your lifestyle.
