It has been a very long time since Buick has launched something that might be known as a real efficiency automobile, however again within the late ’80s, the model was chargeable for what was arguably one of many coolest of its period. The GNX was offered just for the 1987 mannequin 12 months, with simply 547 models produced. It featured a Garrett AiResearch T-3 turbocharger, a high-performance Hydromatic transmission, twin mufflers, and distinctive trim to set it aside from lesser Buicks.
As we speak, its mixture of rarity and efficiency has made it an in-demand mannequin amongst collectors, with automobiles in good situation value over $100,000. It could actually’t sustain with the high speeds of the quickest Buicks ever made, however the GNX’s formidable acceleration and iconic seems have made it wanted by everybody from muscle automobile fanatics to rappers.
Chart-topping rap celebrity Kendrick Lamar even named his 2024 album after the automobile and gave it satisfaction of place on the 2025 Tremendous Bowl Halftime present. Within the intro to his hit track “TV Off,” Lamar raps, “All I ever wished was a black Grand Nationwide …,” a reference to the truth that each instance of the GNX left the manufacturing unit in the identical shade of black. Lamar additionally partly explains the “GNX” title — the “GN” stands for Grand Nationwide, whereas the “X” stands for Experimental.
The origins of the Buick GNX
The Grand Nationwide Experimental was certainly an experiment by Buick’s engineers, who wished to push the Grand Nationwide’s efficiency to new limits. In accordance with GM President Mark Ruess, who labored on the GNX undertaking, a part of the automobile’s growth concerned himself and one other engineer taking a prototype to a drag strip in Arizona. There, the pair would experiment with completely different parts and setups till they discovered the mixture that yielded the quickest quarter mile time.
The prototype was later scrapped, however the setup that they labored on helped form the specification of the manufacturing GNX. Alongside these efforts, a group of different engineers and designers together with Buick’s chief engineer Dave Sharpe have been key to getting the undertaking throughout the end line. To construct the automobiles shortly, Buick contracted ASC/McLaren to assemble the autos reasonably than utilizing GM’s principal manufacturing amenities.
The automobile was the last word iteration of the Grand Nationwide, which in flip was a high-performance model of the Regal. In addition to being a excessive level for the Buick model, the GNX signified the top of GM’s old-school rear-wheel drive sedans altogether, with the corporate switching its choices to a brand new front-drive platform the 12 months after the GNX launched. As we speak, Buick gives a spread of SUVs and crossovers together with the extremely rated 2025 Enclave, however nothing that is wherever close to as thrilling to drive because the GNX.
