Whooped by Buick Grand National - The Unofficial BMW M5 Messageboard (m5board.com)

alpywhite · 25th March 2002, 11:51

I feel more human this evening.

I was loping along the highway in light/medium traffic earlier today at around 125 km/h.

The car behind me moves over to the right and a black object replaces it in my rearview mirror, closing in like a rocket!!!

My first reaction is, Oh crap; a cop. But on closer examination, it's a couple guys in their early 20's in a good-old Buick Grand National!

We have both slowed down because I have a car in front of me. The guys in the GN swing right and lope by; just then, the car in front of me moves right as well.

I in turn let the GN move in front of me. The road opened up and on cue, we both HIT IT.

Sorry boys...they walked away from me. No contest, no excuses. I was flat out through 3rd and halfway through 4th. That Buick just plain dug me a 5-10 carlength hole. I mean, he murdered me.

No grudge here because I've always loved GN's and GNX's; in fact I haven't seen (noticed) one on the road in years. Although dated and arguably ugly, they're actually quite rare in their own right, and as many of you may know, they're VERY tunable.

I would seriously consider buying a low-mile example and covering it up for 10-15 years...partially so the value goes up with rarity and partially so that I resist the urge to turn up the wick on that turbo 6 and go Modena-Hunting. Getting GN's deep into the 12's is a piece of cake; 10's are easier than expected.

Moral of the story: there's always someone faster.

Alps

AndyMenard · 25th March 2002, 11:57

Alps:

I would not feel too bad about this if I were you... you got beat by a very fast car!! These cars were very fast from the factory and with a little effort can be made to turn some very impressive quarter mile times. I know a guy who has one in pristine condition and his car runs in the low 11's!!!

At least you were beat by a worthy oponent. Let's face it, the BEAST is plenty fast, but there ARE faster cars out there!

Gustav · 25th March 2002, 14:50

That car is that fast?

Hmm, next time Alpy look for tose bends

to outrun him!

Ashok Arora · 25th March 2002, 15:13

Did you know that various US Government Agencies (including FBI) were issued Grand Nationals back in the late 1980's...

Ashok
2002 Carbonblack/Caramel

de Witt · 25th March 2002, 15:44

Grand Nattys are fast. Technically they are a Regal, but the designatinon is GN. They run a small displacement V6 (~3.8L) hooked up to a turbo (IHI) for about 350Ft-lbs of torque. Horsepower is just a by-product to these guys....

celler · 25th March 2002, 15:45

Quote:

Originally posted by Gustav
That car is that fast?

Hmm, next time Alpy look for tose bends to outrun him!

Agreed. Also in my experience I have found that tight on ramps are a great equalizer. Expecially with the Mustang crowd.

Craig.

JohnG · 25th March 2002, 15:54

The really sneaky ones are the T-Type(like a GN, but not black) and the Regal Limited (the full grandma luxury Regal, some with a half vynil roof) that were available with the same beastly turbo V6.

atomic80 · 25th March 2002, 18:13

Ok ok, you guys have got me here! Just how fast are those things in stock form? They have 350 ft of torque! That's a lot! What about horsepower?

I would hate to be in one of those in the twisties though. They probably plow around like bricks.

Nice job though, Alpy.

Adam · 25th March 2002, 18:38

I'd love to know too why are they so quick?Pulling 11 in the 1/4 while modded is serioulsy serioulsy quick what amount of bhp would you need?How much do those things weigh?

all the best
Adam

rennen · 25th March 2002, 19:13

I remember the GNX's being in the 12's from the factory, and the regular GN's were low 13's. They are very evil cars, all blacked out with black wheels. You don't see too many, but I'll stay away if I do.