Love At First Sight: Buick Grand National

I’m a 35 year old man who’s feeling like a teenager because of a car. Thanks to this 80s piece of automotive evil, I’m in love, bowled over, but I fear she’s a little out of my league. You see, she’s younger than me, outrageously sexy, and she’d eat me for breakfast. But a man can dream, right?

The car in question is the all black Buick Grand National. For the mid-eighties, this 3.8-L Turbo V6 could hit 60 in 4.8 seconds – that’s fast by today’s standards. She could murder Corvettes and beat the Ferrari Testarossa. But let’s forget power, as her reputation is one of pure street racing slaughter.

Just look at her – damn it, I haven’t felt this away about a car since the Mk 1 Dodge Viper. People say she’s a sleeper but I’m not so sure. I think this Grand National looks like it means business, and only people with pure menace in mind would buy one of these black bullets. But then considering the mean looks, people still wouldn’t guess as to how fast this car actually is. It looks like it could hit 60 in around 7 to 8 seconds, not 4.8. Nearly 3 decades on and I could list a lot of modern cars slower than this gorgeous Buick:

Porsche 911 Targa 4

Porsche Boxster S

Honda S2000

Subaru Impreza WRX

Mitsubishi Evo VIII MR FQ-300

Audi TTS Roadster

Toyota GT86

And so on…

So you get an idea as to how revolutionary the Buick Grand National was for the early to mid-eighties.

 

The above picture is a superb example that captures the Grand National’s evil aura and menacing looks.

 

And as for her rear… perfect. I expect most people who dared to race her saw a lot of this back in the day.

The main question is: Do I dare even think about looking at prices etc? Well, it is cheaper than the Viper, a car not totally out of the question to own as a Sunday driver or show car. She’s definitely in my Top 5 now, and in a few years time and a little spare ££££, who knows? It could be the start of a very dangerous relationship.

 

17 thoughts on “Love At First Sight: Buick Grand National

  1. micky says:

    Good short article made me laugh when he said “And as for her rear… perfect. I expect most people who dared to race her saw a lot of this back in the day:

    Like

  2. Mr Buick says:

    You have missed some really vital information. Your article is about The Buick GN and yet you are quoting GNX performace stats. The difference between a GN and a GNX is massive. The GN was not capable of a 4.3 sec 0-60, nor was it a Corvette eater. The GNX however was a vastly superior beast.
    BTW, all of your images are of a Buick GN and yet you have linked this article in other forums as being about the GNX, the GNX is not pictured or mentioned in this article. Confused?

    Like

    • Hey Mr Buick. Thanks for reading. I wrote this after reading about the 1987 Grand National and found out after the article about it being called the GNX. I know Buick wanted to give it a great farewell and added more power.

      Thanks for the heads up. I’ll source the correct images.

      Like

  3. T. Plumb says:

    Gargling, loved your article, I have a 86 GN and i love it. To set the record straight, the 86 GN had 245 HP and the 87 GNX had 275 HP. My 86 has T49 turbo, 42 lb injectors and methanol injection. Dynos at about 425 HP to the rear wheels, which will still show its rear to most of the cars today. So if you want a car that will alway have a place in history the GN is a good bet.

    Like

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