Here's What A Buick Grand National Is Worth Today

In 1981, Darrell Waltrip drove a Buick Regal to the NASCAR championship. To celebrate the accomplishment, the car manufacturer introduced the first Regal Grand National in February 1982 at the Daytona 500.

Initially, the Grand National was just a visual upgrade package that turned Buick's Regal from a luxury sedan associated with business executives and senior citizens into a performance car aimed at a much younger crowd. It came with an array of "sporty" features, like a "two-tone Charcoal Gray and Silver Gray Firemist over a gray interior, and factory amenities include T-tops, power windows, cruise control, and air conditioning," according to Bring a Trailer. While it looked more like a muscle car from the outside, it had a lackluster 4.1-liter V6 kicking out an underwhelming 125 hp.

Only 215 of the original were made, making it the rarest Grand National model made during its five-year production window. Interestingly, no Grand Nationals were made in 1983, despite Waltrip repeating as champ in '82, and when it came roaring back in '84, it was an entirely different beast. 

Then completely "gloss black," it was equipped with a 3.8-liter turbo strapped engine that cranked out 200 hp and 300 lb.-ft. of torque.  By comparison, Chevy's same-year Corvette produced out only five more horses and was a mere 0.08 seconds faster.

Still, Buick only built 2,000 of the 1984 model and 2,102 for the 1985. At total of 5,512 were made in 1986, a year that saw the Grand National come with some upgrades. It could go from zero to sixty in 4.8 seconds and crossed the quarter=mile in 13.7 seconds, making it quicker than Chevy's Corvette by one second, according to Buick.

Seeing the trend towards to front-wheel drive cars, Buick decided to end the GN's run while it was on top, but not before doing something a little different. It built 20,740 1987 GNs, took 547 of those, and made them into a limited production variant known as the GNX.

The GNX had a special engine tuned by Indy race car builder ASC McLaren. This revved-up version was a 3.8-liter V6 turbo intercooled engine that produced 276 hp. In May 1987, Car and Driver reportedly "recorded a 4.7-second zero-to-60-mph run and a 13.5-second quarter-mile at 102 mph." The GNX also came with a unique "hinged torque arm" in the rear that kept the wheels on the ground by applying more than a ton of downward force.

According to Hagerty, a Concours condition '87 Buick Regal Grand National is worth $91,600, up 18.7% over the last year, while one in excellent shape is worth $68,200, a hefty 29.9% increase from the previous year. Classic.com reported one selling as recently as January 14, 2023, for $110,000. The model year, condition and mileage will swing the value considerably.