Random Car Wednesday: 1986 Buick Grand National

The 1980's were not kind to performance cars. Icons like the Corvette and Mustang were shadows of their former selves, making unimpressive amounts of power. But then along came Buick, with a turbocharged variant of the otherwise-demure Regal. The Grand National, as it became known, was a sleeper of epic proportions, one of the fastest production cars of the decade, and today's RCW.

The Grand National's whopping performance was provided by a turbocharged 3.8-liter V6 that provided 235 horsepower and roughly 350 lb-ft of torque. That's not much by today's performance standards, but the Grand National was no slouch. 0 to 60 happened in a scant 4.9 seconds, and the quarter mile only took 13.9 seconds. The following year would bring the even more powerful GNX.

This particular car is in immaculate shape, with two-tone interior and T-tops. The awesome turbo graphics and the yellow 55 on the speedometer are among some of the many neat details on what is arguably the coolest car of its decade. Buick has made a lot of milquetoast vehicles, especially in recent years, but the Grand National showed the world that they could build a weapons-grade performance car if they felt like it. So bravo, Buick. Now build a modern equivalent.