Buick GNX screenshot! (GT4, really!)

[WhiteSW20]

I don't like muscle cars much and I don't see anything nice about this car...


Can anyone tell me about the significance this car has on muscle car history ?

I'm interested in knowing.

Artz

 

[z06camaro]

Great Vid Jeffpresto, but i have to say FWD 3.8? Wow. And whats with the wheelie bar, im pretty sure its not gunna catch much air infront being a FWD.

 

[JohnBM01]

No offense, but I don't think it cares about being beautiful. It's a machine that's all business. It's not going to beat the Jaguar XJ220 or the McLaren F1 in a beauty contest, but it's all about on-track performance. I'd be highly surprised to learn that this machine is front-drive. I don't know in which edition of Sport Compact Car magazine features the GNX, but it was there in rather surprising fashion. No bodykits. It was just in its stock form.

However, this will give performance tuners something to work with. Get ready to experiment with this machine to make it take on the world. You're not going to win the Grand Valley 300km with it, but you got a nice street car that also makes a good track car.

 

[Solid Lifters]

Great Vid Jeffpresto, but i have to say FWD 3.8? Wow. And whats with the wheelie bar, im pretty sure its not gunna catch much air infront being a FWD.

It's there to prevent the front wheels from ever coming off the ground. You can tell when the GTO first takes off. Yes, FWD cars will pick the front end off the ground just enough to lose critical traction.

 

[kinigitt]

It's there to prevent the front wheels from ever coming off the ground. You can tell when the GTO first takes off. Yes, FWD cars will pick the front end off the ground just enough to lose critical traction.

but the GNX is not a front wheel drive car, to clarify.

 

[jeffpresto]

It's there to prevent the front wheels from ever coming off the ground. You can tell when the GTO first takes off. Yes, FWD cars will pick the front end off the ground just enough to lose critical traction.

you are correct Solid Lifters. no matter what wheels ur driving, any car is going to have some rear-squat under heavy acceleration, this is a good thing with RWD cars as it puts more weight over the driving tires causing more traction. In FWD cars this effect is negative, taking away traction.

the 10.38 @ 136 is even more impressive when you consider it was done on a relatively heavy FWD grand prix without swapping the motor/NOS/etc.

 

[kinigitt]

you are correct Solid Lifters. no matter what wheels ur driving, any car is going to have some rear-squat under heavy acceleration, this is a good thing with RWD cars as it puts more weight over the driving tires causing more traction. In FWD cars this effect is negative, taking away traction.

the 10.38 @ 136 is even more impressive when you consider it was done on a relatively heavy FWD grand prix without swapping the motor/NOS/etc.

It's impressive, but you have to wonder why people do it.

And that's why competitively drag racing front wheel drive cars (on the professional level) seems kind of pointless to me.

It's like drifting a front wheel drive car. Sure you could do it, and with a lot of effort get some results, but it's counterproductive.

 

[DevilGTx]

hey, JeffPresto...
I think you got the torque approximately right on your "official" specs...
but the GNX actually only had about 250hp
And it was not the fastest American car of the 80's.
That honor falls onto the Turbo Trans-Am from 1989 (Indy 500 pace car)
which used the same turbo/interc. 3.8L V-6.
I have pics and vids of a certain Turbo TA from my area...oddly enough, an Asian guy races it...and drives it home too.
I also have lots of pics of Regal T-Types, GNX's, and modded GNX's at the drag strip...let's just say, they are almost the fastest stock or near-stock-trim street cars for drag racing.

 

[Sprite]

looks mint, I will be having one of those to grace my collection in GT4 in fact i will have two: one stock and one tuned.

 

[jeffpresto]

It's impressive, but you have to wonder why people do it.

And that's why competitively drag racing front wheel drive cars (on the professional level) seems kind of pointless to me.

It's like drifting a front wheel drive car. Sure you could do it, and with a lot of effort get some results, but it's counterproductive.

it doesn't seem that pointless to the 1600 or so people who race and post their times on clubgp.com, let alone the 19000 or so active members of the community. not everybody wants (or can afford, for that matter) a full-blown race car. it's nice to have a daily driver with four doors that's good in the winter (FWD) that can run 11s or 12s all day long, some less.

the domestic aftermarket with these (and other) cars has really exploded in the past 4-5 years and is still expanding rapidly. i'm not trying to be a dick but to call this counterproductive is a blind statement. anything that brings performance items to neglected markets is a good thing in my book, and i think most others will agree.

 

[jeffpresto]

hey, JeffPresto...
I think you got the torque approximately right on your "official" specs...
but the GNX actually only had about 250hp
And it was not the fastest American car of the 80's.
That honor falls onto the Turbo Trans-Am from 1989 (Indy 500 pace car)
which used the same turbo/interc. 3.8L V-6.
I have pics and vids of a certain Turbo TA from my area...oddly enough, an Asian guy races it...and drives it home too.
I also have lots of pics of Regal T-Types, GNX's, and modded GNX's at the drag strip...let's just say, they are almost the fastest stock or near-stock-trim street cars for drag racing.

devilgtx i stand corrected. the turbo trans-am pace cars were pretty amazing as well. one of the few (if only, i believe) cars to run pace duty for the indy 500 without any mods necessary to keep up.

 

[wheellift]

I rather have the GNX than some riceburning evo or skyline or silvia or what ever those peices of %#&^*...

 

[RedRiot]

Beautiful car! One of the coolest cars of the '80s. It's a classic, in the same way like the '49 Merc, the '57 Bel Air, or the '71 'cuda.

 

[xcsti]

I rather have the GNX than some riceburning evo or skyline or silvia or what ever those peices of %#&^*...

This kind of has something to do with evo's but alot of the older wrx tuners cut their teeth on GN's and GNX's. Those riceburning evo's skylines and silvias have alot in common with the GN.

 

[GTchampion]

Cool/

 

[kinigitt]

it doesn't seem that pointless to the 1600 or so people who race and post their times on clubgp.com, let alone the 19000 or so active members of the community. not everybody wants (or can afford, for that matter) a full-blown race car. it's nice to have a daily driver with four doors that's good in the winter (FWD) that can run 11s or 12s all day long, some less.

the domestic aftermarket with these (and other) cars has really exploded in the past 4-5 years and is still expanding rapidly. i'm not trying to be a dick but to call this counterproductive is a blind statement. anything that brings performance items to neglected markets is a good thing in my book, and i think most others will agree.

Note that I was talking about drag racing on the PROFESSIONAL LEVEL.

Teams that have enough funding to do engine rebuilds between runs, whose sole purpose is to get faster times than the competition.

Trying to battle the laws of physics when you can get quicker times with less expense is counterproductive in my book.

Weekend drag racers and people that can't afford to be competitive on a large scale should be encouraged to get the most out of their cars. That wasn't my point. Chances are that those people don't have race-prepped engines huffing methanol covered in tube-chassis with gutted interiors.

 

[I6-4-eva]

I rather have the GNX than some riceburning evo or skyline or silvia or what ever those peices of %#&^*...

Come on you know they dont really burn rice.

 

[SlipZtrEm]

Note that I was talking about drag racing on the PROFESSIONAL LEVEL.

Teams that have enough funding to do engine rebuilds between runs, whose sole purpose is to get faster times than the competition.

Trying to battle the laws of physics when you can get quicker times with less expense is counterproductive in my book.

Weekend drag racers and people that can't afford to be competitive on a large scale should be encouraged to get the most out of their cars. That wasn't my point. Chances are that those people don't have race-prepped engines huffing methanol covered in tube-chassis with gutted interiors.

If all pro drag racing was about getting the absolute most out of a car, we'd only see tube-chassis silhouette cars. They'd all use identical engines, identical transmissions; the only differing thing would be the decals. I'm not exactly a fan of the drag racing scene, but I do see a reason for Supras not to switch to solid axles, or for everyone to not avoid FWD machines. It's to show that various types of vehicles can be made to travel fast. I don't ever remember anyone claiming that FWD will outrun RWD in the quarter-mile, but they can be made to be more than respectable.

 

[jeffpresto]

Note that I was talking about drag racing on the PROFESSIONAL LEVEL.

Teams that have enough funding to do engine rebuilds between runs, whose sole purpose is to get faster times than the competition.

Trying to battle the laws of physics when you can get quicker times with less expense is counterproductive in my book.

Weekend drag racers and people that can't afford to be competitive on a large scale should be encouraged to get the most out of their cars. That wasn't my point. Chances are that those people don't have race-prepped engines huffing methanol covered in tube-chassis with gutted interiors.

i understand that you were speaking of the professional level, but where do you think these performance products come from? the vast majority of aftermarket performance parts trickle down from lessons learned by racing them. if people weren't racing these cars on the professional level then there wouldn't be such a large aftermarket for these or most any other cars for that matter.

i do agree that a full-blown tube-chassis drag racer running a FWD platform would be completely insane, but then i wasn't talking about that with my first posts either. tell the PROFESSIONAL teams running FWD civics, sentras etc that their work is counterproductive and i'm sure they'll tell you the same thing.

 

[Solid Lifters]

but the GNX is not a front wheel drive car, to clarify.

I said GTO. The car in the video.

 

[caneman8]

Hallelujah, they put in the GnX! For all the people out there hating on the GnX, you need to take a closer look at this car. Before there were all these hi-po 6-cyl turbo cars made by the Japanese automakers, there was the Buick Grand National/T-Type using a 6-cyl. turbo. Also, I believe the Indy Trans-Am is the fastest Camaro/Firebird 0-60 besides the Firehawk/Formula. That would be so awesome if they put it in the game.

 

[kinigitt]

i understand that you were speaking of the professional level, but where do you think these performance products come from? the vast majority of aftermarket performance parts trickle down from lessons learned by racing them. if people weren't racing these cars on the professional level then there wouldn't be such a large aftermarket for these or most any other cars for that matter.

i do agree that a full-blown tube-chassis drag racer running a FWD platform would be completely insane, but then i wasn't talking about that with my first posts either. tell the PROFESSIONAL teams running FWD civics, sentras etc that their work is counterproductive and i'm sure they'll tell you the same thing.

I get what you are both saying, I just think front wheel drive cars aren't suited to drag racing. I wasn't saying that the practice is devoid of benefit, or anything like that, I just stated that Pro FWD drag racing is like an uphill battle, and requires much more effort to get lesser results. I also didn't say that working to make FWD cars is counterproductive, I said the platform itself is counterproductive to making blazing 1/4 mile passes.

More power to the people that enjoy it, I just see the whole dynamic of the FWD car to be unsuitable for the sport. I'd rather see them put to use on road courses and autocross.

 

[PhatFat]

I'd like to see FWD drag cars in GT4 although I'd much prefer RWD ones, but FWD drag cars are cool in weird sort of way.

 

[JohnBM01]

As I say, when it comes to cars, I'm not patriotic. The reason why I said I like the GNX is because it's a nice American machine and is much better than most of the plain Jane Buicks of today. The GNX packs quite a lot of character and a lot of spunk even in its day and age. Nowadays, most machines with a turbo or even turbocharger are in other nations or tuned cars of today. About the last turbocharged American machine I heard of was a 1990s Camaro that was a drag racing beast.

So PD, cars from 1886 to 2004... what'cha got for us next?

 

[efi-street]

I don't like muscle cars much and I don't see anything nice about this car...


Can anyone tell me about the significance this car has on muscle car history ?

I'm interested in knowing.

Artz

Ummm, quickest (not fastest, TTA has that honor) car built in the US in the 80's.
One of the VERY FEW cars ever produced in the US or Japan that could hit 12 second quarter mile times with less than $500 in mods.
I'd say that's pretty significant stuff. BTW, it's stock 1/4 mile times are quicker than all but the quickest muscle cars from the late 60's early 70's.

For the comment that they only put out 250 HP in real life, they put out that to the rear wheels, which would be over 300HP at the flywheel, so they WERE under rated.

I'm glad that there are so many ricers that underestimate these cars on the street...you're all easy money.

 

[martialstax]

Can anyone tell me about the significance this car has on muscle car history ?

The significance was this was a real high-performance RWD muscle car, at a time when "performance" in American cars was little more than a handling and appearance package you checked off on the order form. It was fast and handled well. Don't get my wrong, I enjoy and appreciate cars from all over the world. But the GNX makes my heart swell with American pride when I think of blowing away import tuner guys in a Buick who's door handles are taller than the roof of their 300ZX.

 

[thedguy]

From what I've been told, with the 87 Grand National GNX u could crack 12's easily by doing boost up tricks (boost controlller or messing with the wastegate).
I do know that from the factory the GNX was rated in the 14's, but magazines had no problems hitting low 13's in them without mods. One magazine I recall pulled 13.36 for their quickest and 13.5 for their slowest time. The GNX had officially 300hp and 420lb-ft torque.

BTW, a lot of people don't realise this, but the Grand national and the GNX are not the same car, the GNX is to the Grand national what the Evo VIII MR is to the Evo VIII's.

The Grand National is significance is tht it is not only quick, it's cheap to make quicker, it's got a damn strong engine, and it's fuel economic for a car of it's weight. Unlike most imports where the holy grail is 10's and then they are praying their engines dont' grenade, it's not hard to find a guy with a Gn running in the 10's on pump gas and have no trouble driving it on the road like. The Grand National is a car that you don't care so much if u win or loose against, your just glad u got to race one and see what it could do, atleast that was what my friend and I were thinking when we had his Fox body and a guy in a GN offered to race us.

 

[kinigitt]

From what I've been told, with the 87 Grand National GNX u could crack 12's easily by doing boost up tricks (boost controlller or messing with the wastegate).
I do know that from the factory the GNX was rated in the 14's, but magazines had no problems hitting low 13's in them without mods. One magazine I recall pulled 13.36 for their quickest and 13.5 for their slowest time. The GNX had officially 300hp and 420lb-ft torque.

BTW, a lot of people don't realise this, but the Grand national and the GNX are not the same car, the GNX is to the Grand national what the Evo VIII MR is to the Evo VIII's.

The Grand National is significance is tht it is not only quick, it's cheap to make quicker, it's got a damn strong engine, and it's fuel economic for a car of it's weight. Unlike most imports where the holy grail is 10's and then they are praying their engines dont' grenade, it's not hard to find a guy with a Gn running in the 10's on pump gas and have no trouble driving it on the road like. The Grand National is a car that you don't care so much if u win or loose against, your just glad u got to race one and see what it could do, atleast that was what my friend and I were thinking when we had his Fox body and a guy in a GN offered to race us.

hell yes.

turbo magazine saw 15 hp gains (at the wheels no less) just by installing an intercooler sprayer.

 

[blargonator]

im glad you guys know what that beast is. there is one for sale near me!!! but my brother is to much of an ass to pull over to see (sorry about the language). that is such a powerful car. heh i like both imports and domestics and to me that is one of the top cars from its stock form ( like stock parts potential) its like the 323GTX of regular cars. some of you may not know what the 323 GT-X was but it was a group B rally car and can easily run 16PSI stock and handle that <8- )

 

[thedguy]

323 GTX was not Group B. I know it was a rally car, but no way it was going to keep up with the stuff Audi, Lancia and Ford was pumping out. I think your thinking group a or maybe group n. A friend of mine is into those cars along with their distant relative the Mercury Capri XR2.