It is seen crossing the block at Barrett Jackson’s 2022 Scottsdale auction in Jan.
The Buick Grand National is a rare car that can achieve the legendary status. The Buick Grand National’s legendary black two-door, which was built on GM’s rear wheel-drive G-body, was a bit of a sleeper in its day. This car represents the end of an era and will be auctioned by Barrett-Jackson in January 2022.
is literally the end. This is the last Buick Grand National to be made. According to Barrett Jackson’s auction listing it rolled off the Pontiac assembly line in Pontiac on December 11, 1987 and has remained with the same owner since. It is in like-new condition and still has its predelivery plastic interior. The car also shows only 33 miles. Evidently, the buyer knew that this car would be special.
The workers who built the last Grand National considered it to be special. The car was shipped with a few signs as it went down the assembly line. Many workers also signed various parts under and underneath the car. Some signatures, including dates and times, are visible on engine parts. These signs are still with your car.
Original window stickers are still visible on the glass. Original build sheets and autographs include Mark Reuss, current President of GM. The photos show that the car looks as new as you would expect after only 33 miles in a climate controlled garage. Except for a tiny crack in the plastic trim at the steering wheel, which is not unusual given that it was General Motors in late 1980s. It could be a factory-installed crack.
Why was the Buick Grand National so unique? The 3.8-liter turbocharged, intercooled V-6 produced 245 horsepower while the Chevrolet Corvette offered 240. Lower-end Buick Regals, with the same exterior styling, offered V6 or V8 engines that rated well under 200 horsepower. The Regal’s platform siblings, Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme (and Chevrolet Monte Carlo) also had modest V6 or V8 engines rated well below 200 hp. Only the rare Buick GNX, another Regal derivative, could boast a higher production rate in GM’s production cars.
It’s not a GNX and there are over 20,000 Grand Nationals that were built in 1987. We’ve seen low mile GNs sell at over $100,000. With this car still in its delivery plastic, and the last of them all, it’s possible that a bidding war might erupt.
This Grand National is available at Barrett-Jackson’s 2022 Scottsdale auction. It will be on display from January 22-30, in Arizona.