A king becomes a racer – the Buick GNX was among the meanest things on the road
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Originally conceived as a luxurious two-door coupé, it later developed into a standard model in Buick's lineup. The base model was called Regal and eventually competed in American Nascar, which turned out to be a popular car for several teams and drivers in the series thanks to its aerodynamic design.
Bidders HighwayAugust 09, 2023 12:00
The car became successful in racing contexts. This led to the anniversary model Grand National, which incidentally was also the original name of the racing category before it was changed to Nascar for the 1971 season.
In total, only 215 examples of the Grand National were built in 1982; production then took a pause in 1983 before resuming in 1984. By 1987 – the final model year of this chassis – the Grand National Experimental, or GNX, was launched. A top-tier model and a "Grand National to put a full stop to all Grand Nationals and celebrate the end of its production," according to an engineer at General Motors.
It's the subtle details that set the Grand National and GNX apart. Under the hood, assistance came from McLaren to hot up the engine, and the interior received GNX embroidery to avoid confusion and awkward exchanges with the neighbour. The object on Bidders Highway is a well-built clone, with everything you could wish for for an authentic GNX experience.
"I've had old muscle cars before, but they've been quite impractical really if you're going anywhere," says the seller of the object on Bidders Highway. "Then a work colleague saw this one and showed it to me. 'It's both brash and usable,' he told me. I had a look at it in Stockholm, and when I drove it out of the garage it was clear, I just had to have it. It's rare to feel that way."
In the seller's ownership, the car has been upgraded over the years – the engine has been pulled out and the gearbox was updated as recently as this year. When we ask the seller about one of his fondest memories with the car, he shares a memory from 2022.
"It was at the end of last year, when Viktor at Dahlbäck Racing joined me to go out and fine-tune it. The car is nice to drive, but it's the condition that's the whole thing with this car, that it's old but still so fine. It's the right block and the right box, rear end and everything. Now I'm after a well-maintained C4 Corvette. And no performance demands this time!"
Click here to see more pictures and go to the auction page!
Click here to see more pictures and go to the auction page!
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