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Buick GNX
The story of this model is an interesting one. Back in 1982, Buick started experimenting with turbocharging its line of standard V6 engines. The results were satisfying so the Buick engineers got permission to take things further. So, they decided to develop a performance version that would deliver better acceleration figures.
Soon, there was the Buick Grand National with 175 HP, which wasn’t impressive but it was a start. In the next couple of years, the Grand National got a bigger engine and more power, jumping from 175 HP to 200 HP and finally to 235 HP. With those numbers came acceleration times of less than six seconds, making those black Grand Nationals seriously quick cars.
But in 1987 came the ultimate version they called the GNX or Grand National Experimental. It featured the same 3.8-liter turbocharged V6. But now, it delivered 275 HP and a 0 to 60 mph time of 4.7 seconds. Nobody expected such a bold move from Buick. After all, Buick was a company for old people that offered boring cars without any excitement. And suddenly, there was a turbocharged V6 coupe that broke every classic muscle car mold that was faster than a Ferrari.
At that moment, the Buick GNX was the fastest accelerating production model in the world. At $29,000, it was expensive. However, there is a widespread legend that the owners paid the lease on these cars just by street racing them for money. Unfortunately, the Buick GNX was a one-year-only model so they made just 547 of them. Today, people praise those cars as equally as they did in the late ’80s.