1987 Buick GNX with 8.7 miles on it headed to auction
A virtually new 1987 Buick GNX will cross the block at a Barrett-Jackson auction June 19. After all these years, the turbocharged muscle car has just 8.7 miles on the odometer, according to the auctioneer.
Short for Grand National Experimental, the GNX was a one-year-only closeout special for the Buick Grand National, developed in partnership with McLaren Performance Technologies/ASC (an American company unrelated to the British automaker and race team). The car heading to auction is number 480 of 547 cars built for the GNX’s sole model year.
Like the standard Grand National, the GNX sported a turbocharged 3.8-liter V-6 engine. In the GNX, the V-6 made 276 horsepower and 360 pound-feet of torque, allowing for a claimed 0-60 mph in 4.6 seconds, and a 12.7-second quarter mile. That was quicker than a Ferrari F40.
1987 Buick GNX (Photo by Barrett-Jackson)
The V-6 was harnessed to a 4-speed automatic transmission with rear-wheel drive. The Grand National and GNX were discontinued because the Buick Regal on which the performance models were based was scheduled to switch to a front-wheel drive platform for the 1988 model year. Buick did try performance versions of some of the front-wheel drive models, but with underwhelming results.
This car was originally sold by Ralph’s Buick in Mena, Arkansas, and was then put on display by a Texas business. It was then put away in an environmentally-controlled display area, according to the listing, and hasn’t been driven since. The same car sold for $200,000 on Bring a Trailer in 2019.
Interestingly, this isn’t the only virtually new GNX to pop up in recent years. An unsold GNX showing just 202 miles was listed on Bring a Trailer last year, and also appeared on Jay Leno’s Garage. In comparison, the first GNX sold to the public (number three of 547) had 10,790 miles when it was put up for sale in 2017.