Track Tested: 1987 Buick Regal Grand National -- Edmunds.com

[Quixote88]

It wishes...

A properly driven Grand National would leave the Camaro for dead with no problem at all.

Well, yes and no, depending on weather conditions. The Buick Turbos, in stock form, are well known to be "sluggish" in warmer weather. In cooler weather, a properly driven Grand National should be able to take care of a stock V6 Camaro. But without question, the Camaro's performance would be much more consistent year round.

Of course, I'm speaking as one who has access to a GNX whenever I want, which will make mincemeat of the V6 Camaro...
(But I never take that car without my cousin, the car's owner, being with me... The replacement cost if the car was lost would be too high... Probably my life)

[SS427]

This must be the world's slowest GN..........maybe it's because this one has T-Tops ??? I've owned or driven many of these and on a typical Miami day it was a 0-60 at 5.0 sec car....... Much faster on a cool evening.

Nope, its Edmunds, compare their test numbers for other cars with road tests from other magazines and you will quickly find these guys have no idea what they are doing behind the wheel.

[HuJass]

The new Camaro may beat the GN, but the GN has so much more cache than the 5th gen.
And there's NOTHING like a GN when the turbo goes to full boil. Well, nothing that can be driven off of a runway.

[MarkSS]

Have never had a chance to drive one of these, but was along for an unofficial drag race back in the day. My dad was driving a 350 Iroc and we saw the taillights of the GN... so it was at least that fast. Definitely one of the best Buicks ever.

[63GrandSport001]

That's cause the old Grand National was a BEAST....until you had to turn.

Actually its because the new GS performance wise doesn't live up in a straight line that is, its FWD which is part of the problem.

[John Wilde]

A better running stock car would be in the 13.9 to 14.2 range.
Chris Chow's 87 WE4 went 13.6s at sea level in 1988 (stock).

[63GrandSport001]

It wishes...

A properly driven Grand National would leave the Camaro for dead with no problem at all.

From the example that they used for this test, in a line its close (Camaro V-6 has gotten to 60 in 5.6 seconds). The Buick isn't even competitive when it comes to braking and wouldn't even consider the handling of the car.

However at the end of the day, what was "fast" in the 1980s is considered slow today. This was a performance car, it should be properly compared to the Camaro SS and not the V-6 Camaro and that would just be stump fest.

I think, it really shows how far performance has come in every measure when the "fastest car" of the 1980s can be compared to a V-6 Camaro. Also all of this means absolutely nothing because it does nothing to detract from the Buick Grand National (a car that I hope to one day own). The Buick Grand National is popular for what it did in the 1980s, and unless someone has a time machine there is no taking that away from that car.

[EJD1984]

I really hope that one day we'll see a true successor modern day to the GN - An Alpha based coupe, with a 3.6L twin-turbo.

[T'Cal]

I loved the GN and was very tempted to buy one but I was in my 20s and I wanted a V8 convertible so I went with Mustangs. I remember driving to a friend's house in my '85 GT (5.0L, 5 speed stick, 2.73 gears) and he introduced me to his neighbor who had a beautiful new '86 Grand National. He offered to give me a ride so I got in and he found a good stretch of quiet road where he stopped the car and then punched it. It was a hot and humid midwest summer afternoon so it wasn't optimum conditions but the tires didn't even break loose. It felt soft off the line and built up steam very quickly to the point that I was sufficiently pinned back in the black and grey velour seat. In all likelihood, it was quicker to 60 than my GT but it just didn't feel that way.

The beauty of the Mustang for me was the combination of the rumble of the true dual exhaust, the roar of the factory Holley 4bbl, the greater involvement of the manual transmission, the instantaneous flood of torque, and the top-down-wind-in-my-face. It was then I realized that the fastest car is not always the most fun. It's the whole package, the visceral experience that takes in all of the senses.

As I got older, I began to develop a stronger appeal for bigger performance cars - midsize and fullsize coupes and sedans like the Cougar XR-7, the Thunderbird SC, the Impala SS, the Monte Carlo SS, the Marauder, the Challenger R/T, and the Charger R/T. In about a year, I'll be looking for a new performance car and I've preliminarily narrowed my choices to the Challenger R/T, the Charger R/T, the Taurus SHO, and the new SuperSport. I hope Buick comes back with a RWD turbo car perhaps based on the alpha and called Grand National. I would certainly include that on my list. Of those cars, the ones that interest me the most now are the Taurus and the Charger. Due to my nature (described above), I should want the SHO over the R/T since it's quicker and gets slightly better fuel economy but I'll likely end up with a V8 powered car just to hear those haunting pipes. I can't wait...

[HuJass]

My friend's dad bought a brand new '87 Turbo T back in May of '87.
That car went 14.40s to 14.60s box stock.
They got it down to 13.50s with a chip, CAI, catback, and TC lock-up switch.

Years later (2002 ish), another friend bought an '87 GN. That car already had some basic work done to it and it ran 13.50s.
Then my buddy decided to tear the motor down and go all out. I don't even remember all the things he did to it but it all culminated with his best run of 10.98 at 127 mph. He was putting purpose built race cars that came in on trailers to shame.
Other than the engine, trans, exhaust, and CAI, the car was all stock. He drove it everyday to work. You really couldn't tell the car was built. It really didn't drive any different. It was so tractable. The A/C still worked. I think he could still knock down VERY respectable mpg figures as long as he kept his foot out of it.
That car was UNBELIEVABLE. A true testament to the awesomeness that is a turbo Regal!

[G8Montana]

One of the FEW icons from the 1980's, would LOVE to own one.

[Cphelps]

Loved my dad's '87 Regal T-Type growing up! Still one of my favorite cars.

I really hope that one day we'll see a true successor modern day to the GN - An Alpha based coupe, with a 3.6L twin-turbo.

Or even bore the 3.6 to 3.8 (it reportedly can go to 4.0 when different liners are used per this article way back in '03 on the original 3.6L) for the historical reference (even though the engine itself would be completely different)!

It would be cool if they had the smaller 3.0L v6 turbo as a Grand National with ~350-380hp, then have the higher displacement v6 turbo as the GNX with ~420-450, and then have the ATS-V use the Gen V SBC to differentiate it, as both would be on alpha. Or ideally use 3.8L turbo(s) for historical reference, and just offer a GNX with a bump in power with some minor differences in the engine similar to the 4 cylinder tubos in current Buicks.

[germeezy1]

I have always wanted either a Grand National or an 89 Pontiac Firebird 20th anniversary TTA which was the fastest F body made until the debut of the LT-4 Camaro SS.

[fast86-gn]

I think its ironic, a 2012 V-6 Camaro would smoke a Buick Grand National.....

Maybe the one he was driving on the vid? My son has a unmolested bonestock 87GN with 45K on the clock and he killed a V6 Camaro on the track. It was close for a moment until the boost came up. street tires and all he ran a 13.80 @ 99pmh to the Camaro's 14.22 @ 98mph.

[yagottabob]

GM should release the Grand National using the current Regal chassis with street legal upgrades!