01
How to start it
Step on the brake, press the engine start button on the console or steering column; wait for the cluster to confirm ready before shifting out of P.
Grand National GNX
CuratedCurated
3.8L Turbo V6 supplies 276 hp through RWD. The Grand National GNX weighs 3,545 lb, costs about $30K, and is listed at 1987 model-year specification. The catalog lists 0–60 mph in 4.7 seconds and a 124 mph top speed.
Research links
Trims
Choose a trim · 2 available
Tap a trim to open its full page — specs, features, build configurator and a maintenance schedule tailored to that trim.
Features
What this car offers
Safety & driver assistance
- Front airbags (driver)
- ABS (rear)
- Crumple zones
Performance hardware
- Performance brake package
- Manual throttle and clutch control
- Passive performance suspension
- Mechanical limited-slip differential
- No launch control or selectable drive modes
Cabin & technology
- Analog instrument cluster
- Sport upholstery
- Physical audio and climate controls
- Period-correct factory audio
- Mechanical key and immobilizer
- No factory smartphone mirroring or remote software updates
Safety rating
3/ 5
Value score
9.5/ 10
Performance, build, and ownership-cost composite.
Overview
About the Buick Grand National GNX
The 1987 GNX is the strangest great American car. Buick — a brand selling comfortable sedans to comfortable people — built a turbocharged, intercooled 3.8-litre V6 muscle car, painted it exclusively black, and made it quicker to 60 mph than a contemporary Ferrari Testarossa or Corvette.
The engineering context matters. In the mid-1980s, emissions regulations had strangled American V8s to the point of embarrassment, and Buick's engineers realised a turbocharged V6 with sequential fuel injection and, crucially, distributorless computer-controlled ignition could make serious power while passing every test. The GNX was the final version, developed with McLaren Performance Technologies and ASC: a larger Garrett turbo, a more efficient intercooler, a reworked exhaust, and a rear suspension with a torque bar and a Panhard rod to stop the axle tying itself in knots. Rated output was a deliberately understated 276 hp.
547 were built. Every one was black, with vented composite fenders and functional wheel-well air extractors.
It ended the Buick performance story instantly — the platform was discontinued the following year — and it created one of the most valuable American cars of the 1980s. The GNX is remembered as the moment turbocharging beat displacement on the street, decades before every manufacturer arrived at the same conclusion.
How to use
Owner's walkthrough
Practical guide for everything a new owner asks on day one — starting the car, finding the gear selector, drive modes, infotainment, driver aids, and easy-to-miss features.
02
Where the gear selector is (and how to use it)
Console-mounted shifter with R-N-D-S notches; paddles behind the wheel for manual gear control.
03
Drive modes
There are no selectable drive modes. Throttle response, steering effort, brake feel, and damping are mechanical rather than software-configurable.
04
Instruments
Analog gauge cluster centered on tachometer and speedometer; warning lights handle the rest. No reconfigurable digital layouts, no head-up display, no thumb-wheel menus.
05
Infotainment & voice control
Factory audio is AM/FM/cassette (CD changer on late-90s flagships). No touchscreen, no nav, no Bluetooth — connectivity features did not exist on the original car.
06
Driver assistance
Electronic driver assistance is either absent or extremely limited by modern standards. Do not expect adaptive cruise, lane keeping, blind-spot monitoring, automatic emergency braking, surround cameras, or stability-control intervention; leave extra space and warm the tires before driving quickly.
07
Fueling
Premium unleaded (91 or 93 octane) is required on Buick performance models — the engine timing is set for it and lower octane causes audible knock and reduced power. Fuel-cap release is a button on the driver door panel; the cap is capless (just push the nozzle in).
08
Keys
Cut metal key with immobilizer chip on most post-1993 cars. No remote-app access, no shareable digital keys, no wallet credentials.
09
First-week tips & easy-to-miss features
A few things every new owner tells us they wish they'd known on day one:
- Download the brand app (myBuick) and pair it with your VIN before your first long trip — remote climate, charging/fuel-level checks, and remote lock-status save you walking back to the garage in winter.