2018 Buick Regal GS Leaks In China, Has 2.0T Engine

Buick Canada recently leaked three pieces of information on the all-new Regal GS. One: It’s a 2018 model year. Two: It packs 3.6-liter V6 power, quite possibly the naturally aspirated LGX engine that’s also used by the 2017 LaCrosse. And third: Dual-clutch AWD is go.

That’s the U.S.-spec model, then. But over in China, the Regal GS employs a 2.0-liter four-cylinder turbo with 255 horsepower. These leaked pics show the extent of the visual changes from Sportback to GS, and as expected, there’s a lot to like about the new variant.

Chrome air inlets integrated into the sides of the bumper, a lower front fascia, darkened headlights, matte black wheels garnished with red brake calipers, more prominent side skirts, dual-exhaust tips, this is how the Regal GS rolls as per Car News China’s pics.

There are no photos of the interior, but chances are the go-faster theme will be obvious in there as well. The bottom line is, Buick’s Chinese division did a nice job with turning the new Regal into a sportier car. It remains, however, to be seen how the GM-owned automaker will price this baby in the United States, a dog-eat-dog market where sales of mid-size sedan vehicles continue to dwindle.

As for the European variant of the Regal, a performance-oriented derivate is currently in development. Spied only recently dropping understeer-heavy laps on the Nurburgring, it’s impossible to tell what sort of firepower the 2018 Insignia OPC hides underhood.

Considering that the former generation churned out 325 PS (321 horsepower) and 435 Nm (321 lb-ft) of torque from a 2.8-liter turbo’d V6, common sense dictates 350 PS (345 hp) or thereabout for the new model. If Buick's beancounters can make a case for this sort of output in the Regal, only time will tell.