Doug DeMuro typically reviews the latest and greatest performance cars on his channel, but for his latest video, he took a trip down memory lane with a review of the Buick Grand National.
We’ve come across a handful of Grand Nationals for sale in recent months and in March, one sold for $70,600 on eBay. Evidently, the Grand National is turning into quite the collector’s car and people are beginning to lay down hefty sums of money to buy them.
Also Read: First Buick GNX Heads To An Auction With No Reserve, So Think Fast
The Buick Grand National was first introduced in early 1982, and despite sporting a unique name, it was actually just a modified Regal. However, that’s not to say that the Grand National wasn’t special, and in GNX guise it pumped out 300 hp from its 3.8-liter V6 and could rocket down the quarter mile in a blistering 12.7 seconds at 113.1 mph (182 km/h), faster than many European supercars of the day.
The first examples to roll out of the factory came fitted with a 4.1-liter V6 with just 125 hpm but when the car was updated in 1984, it came standard with a turbocharged 3.8-liter V8 and 200 hp. Subsequent updates throughout the years’ saw power rise to 245 hp and 355 lb-ft (481 Nm) of torque for 1987, the car’s final model year.
As DeMuro notes, the Grand National doesn’t look drastically different to regular Regal models and only featured some subtle styling modifications. It is a true sleeper and thanks to the black paint, still looks good to this day.