1987 Buick GNX: The Sedan That Beat Ferrari & Porsche
In the 1980s, the fog of the dead-horsepower Malaise Era was starting to lift, but it was still a far cry from the raucous Golden Age of American Muscle when you either had a 13-second car or you were laughed off the road. The ’80s was also a time when style became important again, replacing the personal luxury land yachts of the ’70s with hot sports cars and bitchin’ performance rides. Strangely enough, the fastest, most capable car of the entire decade was a fairly plain-looking Buick sedan that dominated Porsches and Ferraris, leaving behind the shattered egos of their entitled owners. This was a European car killer that nobody suspected until it was too late, with a mouthful of dust and a disappearing act in the mirrors as reminders of its formidable power.
The 1987 Buick eXperiment
Buick achieved a modest amount of street credibility in 1970 with the GS455 and GSX, which were the fastest GM muscle cars of the Golden Age, but mostly they were known as a mid-luxury brand for older buyers. In the late 1970s, they looked to shake that image by creating turbocharged versions of the Regal, which was kind of an odd choice, seeing as that particular model was primarily the ride of choice for retirees. The power of these Turbo Regals, which included the Grand National and T-Type, was rather unimpressive. Needless to say, the attempt to cast Buick as a youthful brand with underpowered, uninspiring cars wasn’t terribly successful, but in 1987, the brand struck gold while sending the Grand National out in style.
Buick demonstrated with the 1987 GNX that any mundane car can look genuinely striking with spoilers, hood scoops, bold wheels, and a slick paint job. While a two-tone beige and brown Regal looked suitable for a retirement community, the triple-black Regal-based GNX was so wicked looking it was dubbed the “Darth Vader” car after the Sith Lord from Star Wars. Another piece of this puzzle was the GNX’s turbocharged 3.8-liter V-6, which was truly a marvel of the 1980s and gave this car the kind of performance its looks conveyed. GNX stood for Grand National eXperimental, and it really was a lab-created monster that terrorized the streets.
Extremely Limited GNX Production Run
The only downside to this nearly flawless set of wheels is that Buick only made 547 of them and the reason is not what most people think it is. The ’87 GNX wasn’t a small-batch ride because it was unpopular and, in fact, most of them were sold before they were even built. It was also not because it was a homologation special or a planned limited edition. If Buick could have sold a million GNX cars over multiple model years, they certainly would have built them. The real reason why the GNX had such a small production and was a one-year-only car is because GM discontinued the G-body rear-wheel-drive platform in favor of front-wheel drive architecture. Even if they wanted to, the GNX simply couldn’t continue into the future.
ASC/McLaren’s Miraculous Turbo Six
The main factor as to why the ’87 GNX was such an awesome car is because of its 3.8-liter turbocharged V-6. The engine was developed with help from ASC/McLaren, who blueprinted them, packed them with high-performance parts, and fitted them with Garrett T3 turbochargers as well as intercoolers. The result was an engine laughably rated at 276 hp and 360 lb-ft of torque that was realistically much more powerful. Even without a dyno test, we know the GNX was underrated because it could sprint from 0–60 in 4.7 seconds, shred a quarter-mile in 13.5 seconds, and had a top speed of 124 mph, all of which would be impossible for a 3,545-pound car with only 276 hp on tap. There are even some anecdotal claims that this was a 12-second car, although that was probably with additional tuning, but the stock acceleration figures were already remarkable for the 1980s, marking the return to the 13-second standard of the Golden Age.
Porsche-Puncher And Ferrari-Flayer
The GNX put Porsche on notice by running even with the 1987 911 Turbo in the quarter-mile with a 13.5 ET, embarrassing the 928 S4’s 13.9 run, and absolutely besting the 944 Turbo’s 14.4-second effort. It also toppled the Lotus Esprit’s 14.0 quarter-mile for a fraction of the cost. As for Ferrari, the GNX was parallel to the Testarossa, three-tenths of a second quicker than the 328 GTS, and completely smoked the 412 by almost a second and a half in the quarter-mile. The 1987 Lamborghini Countach 5000S/QV featured a 5.2-liter V12 rated at 420 hp in U.S. models and ran a quarter-mile in 13.7 seconds, clearly slower than the American-built Buick GNX. This really was a European sports car killer that inevitably infuriated owners who spent far too much money to be embarrassed by a Buick sedan.
GNX Domestic Violence
Against American V-8 muscle cars and sports cars, the GNX was equally dominant. The 1987 Chevrolet Corvette did the quarter-mile in 14.5 seconds, a full second slower than the GNX, and that was the best America had to offer that year. A Fox Body Ford Mustang GT with a 5.0-liter V-8 was a 14.7-second car, while the 5.7-liter V-8s of the Camaro IROC-Z and Pontiac Firebird Formula had them running in the 15s, meaning they couldn’t even see the GNX when it crossed the finish line. After the sluggish performance of the Malaise Era, 14s and low 15s were good ETs, but when the GNX blistered a quarter-mile in 13.5 seconds, it set a new standard that Detroit would chase into the new millennium with the Modern Muscle Car Era.
Best Value in ’80s Performance
With an original MSRP of $29,290, which is $86,369 adjusted for inflation, the 1987 Buick GNX wasn’t exactly a bargain, but it is positively cheap when compared to the European sports cars it could smoke. An ’87 Porsche 944 cost $33,250 new and a 928 S4 would run you $58,900, or $173,682 in today’s bucks. Remarkably, a Ferrari Testarossa cost $134,000 new in 1987, which is $395,134 in today’s dollars, and it was no faster than the GNX. Somehow, that’s somewhat reasonable because a 1987 Lamborghini Countach 5000S/QV could cost as much as $140,000 back in the day, equating to $412,827. The Buick GNX, which could run with or beat them all, is clearly the best value in high performance for the entire 1980s.
’87 GNX Prices and Values
While the 1980s was a memorable decade and the cars were certainly notable, things like a Mustang GT 5.0 or an IROC-Z are nearly bargains now, with prices under $10,000 for pristine examples in most cases. When it comes to a 1987 Buick GNX, however, this was a special car and the value of them is quite stunning by comparison. J.D. Power, which bases its figures on real-world sales, says the average retail price for a GNX is $128,700 with a high of $181,000. Hagerty, on the other hand, values this model considerably higher, with a range of $103,733 for a fair-condition car, which is remarkable for a project vehicle, all the way up to $314,000 for a perfect showpiece. This is the kind of money that goes for rare Hemi-equipped classic Mopars, but it’s for what is essentially a six-cylinder Buick Regal, which, again, shows just how special the GNX really is.
1980s Auction Superstar
The thing is, people knew the GNX was special when it came out in 1987 and many, or possibly most, bought them as investments. That means too many of these cars sat in garages for decades and were never truly enjoyed, but the plan definitely paid off. The auction sites are littered with GNXs with little-to-no mileage on them that have sold for $175,000 and up. The most expensive one we could find was the one pictured above, which only had 843 miles on the odometer and sold for $255,000 on Bring a Trailer in 2025. The inflation-adjusted MSRP for an ’87 GNX is $86,369, and we couldn’t find one that sold for less than that, so this was a solid investment for even the owners who actually racked up miles on them, but for the ones who held on to them, it’s a genuine windfall.
Legacy of the Darth Vader Car
The whole point of Buick’s Grand National initiative, as well as the GNX, was to make it a brand that resonated with younger buyers, which it most certainly did not. There were very few teens and twenty-somethings who could afford a GNX in 1987, but they could for sure get behind the wheel of a Mustang, Camaro, and even some hot Japanese imports on a young person’s budget. So, the GNX never pushed Buick out of the AARP demographic, but it’s not all bad. Today, it is recognized as one of the baddest rides ever built, and that includes the classic era muscle cars. It is also, as we pointed out, one of the most collectible American cars, consistently outpacing Golden Age vehicles on the auction block. A GNX is more out of reach than a 1970 Chevy Chevelle SS 454 LS6, and that says a lot. While the GNX never moved the needle on Buick’s overall appeal, it has still left a legacy as a legendary street-level performance icon.
Sources: Bring a Trailer, Hagerty, J.D. Power
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