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1987 Buick GNX Is a Low-Mileage Black Chunk of Awesome

The second generation of the Buick Regal was gifted with something particularly special: in the final year of the generation, the Grand National Experimental was introduced. Essentially a beefed-up version of what the range already had to offer, the GNX, as it became known, benefitted from the engineering expertise of ASC McLaren.
1987 Buick GNX 14 photos
Photo: Bring a Trailer/mars2145
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The souped-up vehicles started life over at Buick as slightly modified Grand Nationals with a special interior trim package and an all-black exterior. Once they rolled off the lines, ASC McLaren got hold of them and started snapping onto the 3.8-liter engine things like a larger turbocharger and intercooler, an ECU tune-up, and a custom dual exhaust system. The powerplant worked with the help of a four-speed automatic transmission.

The tuning work performed on the engine gave it an official power rating of 276 horsepower, but the car proved time and again it could squeeze out more than that. Consider the GNX was capable of running the quarter-mile in 13.5 seconds, and that’s not something most vehicles can brag with as they leave the factory doors.

Buick didn’t make all that many GNX models in 1987, and after that year, it pulled the plug on them. Records point to 547 having been made, and it’s unclear how many of them are still around in running order.

The one we have here is number 161, as the plaque on the dashboard states. It is part of the group that is still around and in running order, but more importantly, it has very few miles on it: 3,400 (5,470 km) is what the odometer reads.

Like all others of its breed, it comes wrapped in black over a two-tone interior and sports body upgrades like fiberglass wheel arch extensions, fender vents, and GNX badges. The car rides on 16-inch wheels wrapped in Goodyear Eagle tires, and while the front suspension is still the stock one, several upgrades have been made at the rear.

The GNX is presently listed in an online auction on Bring a Trailer. There are two days left in the process at the time of writing, and the highest bid sits at $74,500.
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About the author: Daniel Patrascu
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Daniel loves writing (or so he claims), and he uses this skill to offer readers a "behind the scenes" look at the automotive industry. He also enjoys talking about space exploration and robots, because in his view the only way forward for humanity is away from this planet, in metal bodies.
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