Autoblog

Buick dusting off Grand National, GNX and T-Type nameplates

Zach Bowman — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 18:33:00 EST

Inside Line reports Buick is planning to bring back some of the more storied names from the company's past, including the Grand National, GNX and the T-Type. Those cars rose to prominence in the 1970s and '80s to become performance legends of their day.

The new models will reportedly make use of the rear-wheel drive platform that currently underpins the Cadillac ATS and all would arrive as sedans - according to an unnamed source familiar with the initiative. Odds are the T-Type and the Grand National would share a driveline, with honest money being on a new twin-turbocharged 3.6-liter V6 as the engine of choice. Word has it the mill will be good for anywhere from 350 to 400 horsepower.

That leaves only the GNX. Inside Line seems to think that machine could get down the road with some help from the all-new GM LT1 small-block V8. The engineers behind the ATS platform have already told us the engine bay is large enough for to accommodate the big eight pot, and since GM is most certainly working on an ATS-V, a slightly less powerful, less luxurious Buick iteration makes some kind of sense. We can't wait to see these things in the light of day.

Buick dusting off Grand National, GNX and T-Type nameplates originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 26 Nov 2012 18:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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eBay find of the week: Mazda FD RX-7 equipped with Grand National turbo'd V6

Dan Roth — Sun, 19 Aug 2007 12:32:00 EST

Filed under: Auctions, Etc., Buick, Mazda

Here's another example of liking the individual hardware pieces, but being repulsed by the idea of the ultimate combination. RX7s are cool. Grand Nationals are cool. But a vehicular mash-up of a 1993 RX-7 powered by a Buick GN's V6 seems a little weird. Weird to think that it even gets past regulatory agencies, as it's an older, totally alien engine in a newer car, which might make it interesting to register in a state with California emissions. The swap is well done, though, even if we'd question the handling a heavier and much more powerful engine in the snout brings with it. It's fast, but does it understeer like a pig and snap the tail out? The seller seems to have focused on posting low elapsed times in the quarter mile, so think about that when you conjure what the dynamics may be. Follow the jump for more.

[Source: eBay via Carscoop]

Gallery: GN powered RX-7

Continue reading eBay find of the week: Mazda FD RX-7 equipped with Grand National turbo'd V6

eBay find of the week: Mazda FD RX-7 equipped with Grand National turbo'd V6 originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 19 Aug 2007 12:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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New York Auto Show: Hidden basement treasures

Eric Bryant — Thu, 05 Apr 2007 16:56:00 EST

Filed under: New York Auto Show, Classics, Coupe, Buick

Sure, most of the folks here at the NYIAS are interested primarily in the stuff that hasn't yet appeared in showrooms, but one of our favorite cars of the show was a twenty-year-old gem tucked off in a corner on the lower floor. What you see here in these photos is a genuine 1987 Buick GNX with all of 45 miles on the clock - a near-virgin example of a car that was a bit of a dinosaur even back in its day. The dated G-body platform was in its last year, and so McLaren and ASC were called in to give it a proper send-off.

What the GNX lacked in chassis sophistication was more than compensated by the highly-pressurized pushrod V6 under the hood and its electronic controls. The flares and sixteen-inch snowflake wheels only increased the sinister stance of the black two-door, but still did little to convey the performance potential of this machine. It was the beginning of the end of an era at GM, and eventually the neutering of individual brands killed off these acts of intracorporation rebellion.

Two decades ago, this thing stickered for a touch over $29K - or just shy of $54,000 in today's money. The odds of such a freak occurrence happening in Buick showrooms again are probably somewhat less than the likelihood of this exact vehicle ending up in our garage, we reckon. So what's the real Super Buick at this show?

Gallery: 1987 Buick GNX

New York Auto Show: Hidden basement treasures originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 05 Apr 2007 16:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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