Why the Buick Grand National, Not the GNX, Is the True 1980s Street King

I was scrolling through an auction listing the other day, watching a 1987 Buick GNX cross the block for a quarter-million bucks, when it hit me: we’ve all been punked by rarity. The GNX is the automotive equivalent of a Fabergé egg—gorgeous, stupidly expensive, and hidden away in a vault. Meanwhile, its rowdier, cheaper sibling, the Grand National, did all the actual street fighting back in the ’80s and still offers way more laughs per dollar today. Let me break down why the working-class hero is the one you really want.

First, a quick spec throwdown. In 1987, Buick handed a handful of partially finished Grand Nationals to ASC/McLaren, who bolted on upgraded turbos, ceramic-coated headers, a bigger intercooler, and a tasty suspension setup. The result was the GNX: 276 horses and 360 lb-ft of torque, sprinting the quarter mile in 13.5 seconds at over 100 mph. That’s seriously quick, even by today’s standards—think early Porsche 930 territory. But here’s the punchline: the regular Grand National that same year made 245 horsepower and 355 lb-ft. A gap of just 31 ponies and 5 lb-ft. On the street, that’s the difference between a firm handshake and a slightly firmer handshake.

Now let’s talk money, because my wallet has feelings too. A GNX in 2026 will set you back an average of nearly $203,000, with top-tier cars breaking $250,000. That’s Lamborghini money for a Buick that, let’s be honest, is still fundamentally a puffed-up Regal. On the flip side, a clean, driver-quality Grand National hovers around $44,000, with plenty of solid examples in the $30k–$40k range. For the price of one garage queen that’ll give you anxiety attacks every time a bird looks at it, you could buy four or five Grand Nationals and start your own biker gang of turbo V6s. Which one sounds more fun at a stoplight?

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