The 1987 Buick GNX was extraordinarily quick for its time, but the familiar claim that it “beat Ferrari and Porsche” needs qualification. In Car and Driver’s May 1987 test, the GNX ran 0–60 mph in 4.7 seconds—matching a Callaway Twin-Turbo Corvette, but a tenth behind the Porsche 911 Turbo. The sources reviewed do not document a direct GNX-versus-Ferrari test. And despite the sedan-like shape, the GNX was a two-door coupe.
What the 1987 Buick GNX was
GNX stands for Grand National Experimental. It was the final-year, 1987 high-performance version of Buick’s Grand National, which was based on the Regal. Buick and General Motors report that 547 GNXs were built, with Michigan-based ASC Inc. and McLaren Engines involved in the modifications. The GNX Registry likewise describes 547 individually numbered cars, each starting as a fully optioned Grand National before the conversion.
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The GNX was not a separate sedan model. Car and Driver identified its test car as a two-door, five-passenger coupe. Its formal roofline and rear seat may help explain the sedan label, but coupe is the accurate body-style description.
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For context, Car and Driver’s 2018 history says Buick built 20,740 Grand Nationals for 1987 and converted 547 into GNXs. That retrospective gives period sticker prices of $29,290 for the GNX and $18,295 for a fully optioned Grand National; those are original nominal prices, not current collector values.
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How fast was the GNX in the period test?
In its May 1987 road test, Car and Driver measured the GNX at 4.7 seconds from 0 to 60 mph and 13.5 seconds for the quarter-mile at 102 mph. The magazine’s road tester, Tony Assenza, put the 0–60 comparison plainly: “In zero-to-60 performance, the only car available in the U.S. that matches the Buick is the Callaway Twin-Turbo Corvette, and the only one that beats it is the Porsche 911 Turbo, at 4.6 seconds.”
That is a striking result for a Buick coupe, but it is not evidence that the GNX beat Porsche in that measure. The Porsche was quicker to 60 mph by one tenth of a second in the cited comparison. The test’s measured 0.80 g on the 300-foot skidpad and criticism of the GNX’s rough-road composure also show why straight-line acceleration alone cannot establish which car was better overall.
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Did the GNX beat Ferrari?
The reviewed sources do not provide a direct period test matching a GNX against a Ferrari. The Ferrari comparison often attached to the story concerns the 1986 Grand National, not the 1987 GNX: Car and Driver’s retrospective reports that the earlier Grand National reached 60 mph in 4.9 seconds and was quicker than most contemporary Ferraris. That result should not be transferred to the GNX as if it were a head-to-head test.
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Random freezes, missing sound and display glitches usually trace back to one bad driver. Find and replace yours safely.Free scan · under a minuteA separate Car and Driver top-speed shootout from 1987 included a stock Ferrari Testarossa and a modified twin-turbo Porsche, but not the GNX. It therefore cannot establish a GNX-versus-Ferrari top-speed result either. In GM’s 2025 account, company president Mark Reuss recalled that the GNX “would beat Corvettes, Ferraris, all the exotics – it was the fastest car on the road in America.” That is his later recollection of the project, not a period instrumented Ferrari comparison.
What made the GNX different from a Grand National?
ASC and McLaren’s work went beyond appearance. Car and Driver’s history describes revised engine controls, freer-flowing heads, a lower-restriction exhaust and a Garrett AiResearch turbocharger with a ceramic turbine wheel. The magazine lists output at 276 horsepower and 360 lb-ft of torque. GM’s account also identifies a Garrett AiResearch T-3 turbocharger, dual mufflers and a modified Turbo-Hydramatic 200-4R transmission.
The distinctive all-black Grand National look remained, with GNX-specific details. Buick highlights black mesh 16-inch wheels and a serial-number dashboard plaque; Car and Driver also lists composite fender flares, functional front-fender louvers, transmission cooling and Stewart-Warner gauges. Together, the hardware and trim marked the GNX as a limited special rather than simply a Grand National with a badge.
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How to read the “beat Ferrari and Porsche” claim
- Porsche: In Car and Driver’s May 1987 0–60 comparison, the 911 Turbo was faster: 4.6 seconds versus 4.7 for the GNX. The Callaway Twin-Turbo Corvette matched the GNX.
- Ferrari: The cited Ferrari comparison is about a 1986 Grand National, and the reviewed sources contain no direct GNX-versus-Ferrari test.
- “Beat” depends on the measure: Acceleration, quarter-mile time, top speed and handling are different comparisons. The published GNX figures establish its period acceleration performance, not a universal victory over either marque.
So the GNX’s reputation rests on a real achievement: an American Buick coupe delivered exotic-car acceleration in the 1980s. The more precise version of the headline is that it nearly matched a Porsche 911 Turbo’s 0–60 time, while claims that it beat Ferrari require a different car, a later recollection or evidence not established by these tests.
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Sources
- Car and Driver, “Tested: 1987 Buick GNX Exercises Brute Force,” May 1987
- Car and Driver, “The Buick Grand National and GNX’s History Told by its Creators,” 2018
- Buick, “The Legacy of the Iconic Buick GNX”
- General Motors, “GM’s Mark Reuss, the big game, and the story of the Buick GNX,” February 17, 2025
- The Official Buick GNX Registry & Owners Association, “About the GNX”
- Car and Driver, “From 1987: Ultimate Top Speed Shootout Is a Gathering of Eagles,” December 1987
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