The 1987 Buick GNX has transformed from a car into a security. Many of the 547 examples of the limited-edition performance model are no longer driven, except across auction blocks.
One with just 30 miles on its odometer was recently sold at auction for $427,000, which blew away the previous $308,000 record price that was paid for another with 568 miles on it in 2022.
GNX values dipped for a couple of years after that, but the latest sale suggests that it is about to break out in a big way and there are a couple waiting in the wings with the potential to put up some huge numbers.
The GNX is a modified version of the Grand National that features an upgraded chassis and powertrain, which includes a turbocharged 3.8-liter V6 that was reengineered to boost its power from 245 hp and 355 lb-ft to an official 276 hp and 360 lb-ft. The latter was underrated and is really more along the lines of 300 hp and 400 lb-ft or more, according to independent tests.
Buick built nearly 30,000 Grand Nationals, and the last one off the production line was sold at the same event as the $308,000 GNX for $550,000, which remains the highest price ever paid at an auction for any Buick. That sets up another GNX to beat it.
GNX No. 547 was last sold at the Mecum Auctions event in Kissimmee, Fla., in 2017, when it had 68 miles on it and went for $242,000, which was a GNX record at the time. Along with being the final car, it has an interesting backstory.
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Buick planned on building just 500 GNXs and kept No. 1 and No. 500 for the GM archives, before extending the run to 547 due to popular demand. When it finally wrapped things up, it offered the owner of No. 547 to trade it for No. 500 plus a Buick Reatta, but they refused. The car has never been titled or registered and is still on its Manufacturer’s Statement of Origin.
No. 547’s record stood for a couple of years until No. 480 crossed the block at the Barrett-Jackson Las Vegas auction in 2021 with 8.7 miles showing on the odometer and sold for $275,000. If either of them are auctioned soon, it’s very likely that they would break the new GNX record, while No. 547 stands to become the king of the Buick hill.
