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2018 Buick Regal GS Debuts In China, Looks May Be Deceiving

Previewed by a handful of low-res leaked photos, the 2018 Buick Regal GS for the Chinese market is now official. The automaker published a single image of the sporty mid-size sedan, but what hides under the hood may come as an underwhelming bombshell to performance enthusiasts.
2018 Buick Regal GS (China model) 42 photos
Photo: Buick
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The melodrama behind the boos and hisses comes as a result of both displacement and the number of cylinders. Over in China, the Regal GS employs a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder benefitting from a more aggressive tune than what the Regal boasts with nowadays. More to the point, look forward to more than 260 horsepower, 300 horsepower tops.

In a day and age where the Focus RS, which is a compact hatchback, has 2.3 liters at its disposal and more get-up-and-go than a Mustang EcoBoost, it’s hard not to judge General Motors for its decision with the go-faster derivative of the Regal. The bad news is, pretty much the same engine will be offered over in Europe with the Opel and Vauxhall Insignia OPC/VXR.

An area where the China-spec 2018 Buick Regal GS doesn’t fail to disappoint is the looks department. Black-painted wheels of a generous size that contrast beautifully with the Brembo calipers, trapezoidal exhaust finishers, massive air vents integrated into the front bumper, mesh instead of the traditional waterfall grille, generous side skirts, just about every design element comes together nicely as far as the exterior is concerned.

The U.S. public won’t get the Regal GS with a four-cylinder, though, and nor will Australia. In both cases, General Motors will one-up the Chinese and European models with a naturally-aspirated 3.6-liter V6. Internally referred to as LGX, the six-cylinder plant is estimated to develop something like 310 horsepower and 282 pound-feet (382 Nm) of torque.

To ensure handling is on par with both the looks and powertrain, the Regal GS for America will make the best out of every corner thanks to GKN-developed all-wheel drive with performance-oriented torque vectoring. The system, in essence, is similar to what the Ford Motor Company uses in the Focus RS. Continuously damping technology will is on the menu as well.
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About the author: Mircea Panait
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After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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