The Buick GNX was a special edition Grand National, produced in only 547 units. The vehicle’s price tag was $29,900. As advertised, the GNX was “a high-performance investment for the fortunate 500.” Released during the 1980s Star War movies, this Buick was also popularly referred to as “Darth Vader's Car,” the bolt of the Dark Side.

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But there was a lot more to the GNX than its unique murdered-out looks and rarity. Underneath all that, the GNX was one of the most powerful cars to come out of Detroit and a performance monster built to embarrass even the most competent sports cars of its era. And these are just some of the facts that made it one of the most unique performance cars of the '80s.

10 Born From A Partnership With McLaren

Via Car and Driver

The GNX was created in partnership with McLaren Performance Technologies/ASC, also known as Linamar. The company bought McLaren in 2003 to research, develop, and promote the latest technologies. The business model is a mix of lean manufacturing and engineering to develop powerful engines, speedy machines, and modern cars.

Via Car and Driver

Based in Detroit, McLaren creates software to build prototypes, test driveline systems, and testing engines. One of the company’s most recent success is the Mustang 5-Axis Cylinder Head Machining, produced for the Mustang Boss 302. The Buick GNX was one of their first success stories, back in 1982.

9 The Exclusive Mechanical Changes

Via Motor Authority

The GNX is a sibling of the Buick Grand National and it’s not the lame cousin. The GNX is the prom queen, full of mechanical changes and improvements. The car is the glamorous sister of the Grand National. Powered by a turbocharged 231-cubic-inch V6 engine, the GNX had an output of 276 horsepower, which was a gain of 31 horsepower and five pound-feet of torque over standard Grand National models.

Via Motor Authority

More mechanical upgrades include the transmission, a boost to the torque, and the addition of a boost gauge.

8 It Is A Super Grand National

Via Buick

Being the prom queen, the Buick GNX is impressive in its performance and in its style. Launched in 1982, the Grand National was named after the NASCAR Winston Cup Grand National Series. Buick had won the Manufacturers Cup both in 1981 and 1982 and it wanted to take advantage of its fame.

Via Buick

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Buick vehicles were usually black, but not the Grand National. Even the seats for special and unique for Buick, the Lear-Siegler seats. As special and unique as the Grand National was, the GNX took it up a notch.

7 The Powerful Turbocharger

Via Car and Driver

Making the Buick GNX even better than the Grand National and any other car of the '80s, was the special Garrett AiResearch T-3 turbocharger. It featured a ceramic-impeller that blew through a more efficient intercooler. The intercooler connected to the engine via a Cermatel coated pipe, made of both ceramic and aluminum.

Via Car and Driver

More powerful modifications included: low-restriction exhaust with dual mufflers, reprogrammed turbo Hydramatic 200-4R transmission with a custom torque converter. All of them made the Buick GNX the best car of the 80s.

6 The Increased Traction

Via Hagerty

The turbocharger and the transmission weren’t the only upgrades the GNX trim featured. There was also the torque arm which was mounted on the car’s rear differential cover, which caused increased traction. The traction bar of the GNX ran parallel to the drive shaft. The car plants to the ground, making sure the car has a better grip and the wheels don’t slip.

Via Hagerty

Thanks to the torque arm, the body lifted while firmly planting the rear wheels down. The result was increased traction.

5 The Impressive Performance

Via Motor Authority

The modifications made to the Buick GNX ensured the car’s impressive performance. As Road and Track described the GNX in its June 1987 issue, “In this era of too many same-same cars, there are precious few that will be the serious special interest cars of the future. This is one of them. You could go looking for Corvettes to embarrass.” But the GNX didn’t just embarrass the Corvette. It also put the like of the Ferrari F40 and the Porsche 930 to shame. The Buick was faster, with a 14 mile time of 12.7 seconds at 113.1 mph and a 0-60 mph time of just 4.6 seconds!

Via Motor Authority

Road and Track wrote, “There may have been a few supercars of the late Sixties and early Seventies that were a bit quicker, but they were a great deal more work.”

4 The Interior’s Upgrades

Via Road and Track

As Car and Driver wrote in 1987, “the interior of the GNX is a festival of chrome and bright metal.” New, non-glitzy Stewart-Warner gauges adorned the instrument cluster, Including an analog turbo boost gauge which measured speed, rpm, boost, oil pressure, engine temperature, and fuel level.

Via Road and Track

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To drivers, the seats are firm and supportive and are covered in a grippy gray fabric. While the interior’s upgrades might seem not stylish enough, the Buick GNX wasn’t meant for beauty pageants or glamorous competitions. The GNX was meant to ride and ride fast.

3 The Exclusive Paint Job

Via Motor Authority

Buicks were black, but not the GNX. This special edition car was charcoal gray with light silver gray firemist paint added to each side and red pinstripes, billboard shadow lettering proclaiming "Buick.” The front fender vents were painted in low-gloss to provide contrast to the gleaming black paint.

Via Motor Authority

The low-gloss provided a contrast to the shiny black paint, which earned it the nickname “Darth Vader’s car.” The GNX was pitch black and it looked aggressive. It looked as fast as it actually was, perfect to run away from Luke Skywalker.

2 The Sleeper Status

Via Motor Authority

Sleeper cars boast high performance while having an unassuming exterior. From the outside, these vehicles look like any other economy-class car, but it’s just a trick. Underneath all that, sleeper cars are unique. Sometimes they are mechanical and technological marvels, full of upgrades and improvements.

Via Motor Authority

RELATED: The 10 Fastest Sleeper Cars (And 5 Really Slow Supercars)

They might look cheap and ran down, but these vehicles are everything but. The Buick GNX is the perfect example. While from the outside, this model looks like any other black car, under the hood, it’s a whole other story.

1 The Original Price Tag (And The Current One)

Via Buick

The suggested retail price for the Buick GNX in 1982 was between $26,000 and $28,000. Motor Authority mentions that in 1987, the car had a sticker price of $29,389. In over 30 years, the value of the GNX has changed. A lot. In January 2020, a Buick GNX went on auction for a starting bid of $150,000.

Via Motor Authority

In 2019, another GNX model (with 8.5 miles on the odometer) went on sale for $200,000. As the website Hagerty reports, “Low mile, still-in-the-wrapper performance cars from the 1980s and ’90s have been surfacing for the past couple of years and continue to get enormous results.” The GNX is one of them.

There is no doubt that the Buick GNX was the most badass performance car of the 1980s. It looked normal but it wasn’t. It was fast, powerful, unique, and desirable. Worth $200,000.

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