ARE WE READY FOR THE NEW GNX?

And then in November of 2024, Kendrick Lamar, arguably the hottest rap artist of our time, introduced an album named after the car. The second major star alignment occurred during Super Bowl 2025, when Lamar opened the halftime show with the GNX as its centerpiece.  

So, how is it that the hottest brand currently on the market is not on the market? GNX record albums and CDs are flying off the shelfs and being downloaded in record numbers. But the automotive GNX is nowhere to be found except as a decades-old memory.

To Pimp a Buick

The GNX was born out of double wins by General Motor’s Buick Division in NASCAR’s Manufacturers Cup back in the early 1980s. GM wanted to capitalize on the wins, and so the Grand National began life in 1982 as a Buick Regal with some extra trim and a 125-horsepower non-turbocharged V6 engine. 

The first Grand National was essentially a cosmetic makeover of a charcoal grey Buick Regal. In the following year, Buick didn’t offer the Grand National, but it returned in 1984. This time, the charcoal grey was replaced by today’s familiar Darth Vaderesque black paint job, and every version came turbocharged.

In 1986, Buick added an intercooler to the Grand National, boosting horsepower and torque. In 1987, horsepower was further boosted, now at 245 with 355 pound-feet of torque at 2000 rpm.   

But for its final year, Buick wanted the Grand National to go out with a bang. Hence, the Grand National Experimental—AKA the GNX—was built in partnership with McLaren Performance Technologies/ASC. Advertised horsepower for the GNX was a conservative 276 with 360 pound-feet of torque at 3000 rpm.  

GNX Legend and Mythology

 When the GNX was introduced, Motor Trend tested its acceleration and deemed it quicker than the Ferrari F40 and the Porsche 930. By today’s standard, the GNX is still quick, albeit there are several passenger vehicles that are as quick or quicker. 

The humble Volvo XC40 Recharge compact SUV and dual motor Hyundai Ioniq 5 can keep up with the GNX to 60 mph. The Ford Mustang Mach-E GT will smoke it to sixty, as will the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N, Kia EV6 GT or any dual motor Tesla Model 3 sedan. 

Celebrity Sightings in the GNX Community

The GNX’s reputation has always been a bit larger than life. It certainly helped that a long list of celebrities kept a GNX in their automotive corrals. According to the Official GNX Registry & Owners Association, they include: 

Stacey Augmon (Sports – Basketball)
Travis Barker (Entertainment – Music, gifted by Kourtney Kardashian)
Nicola Bulgari (Business – Luxury Goods)
Jerry Crawford (Business – Franchising)
Ben Crenshaw (Sports – Golf)
Reggie Jackson (Sports – Baseball)
Kendrick Lamar (Entertainment – Music)
Bruce Lietzke (Sports – Golf)
Richard Marriott (Business – Hotels)
Tom Monaghan (Business – Dining)
Burt Reynolds (Entertainment – Acting)
Don Schumacher (Auto Racing)
Charles Schwab (Business – Investments)
Charlie Sheen (Entertainment – Acting)
Sylvester Stallone (Entertainment – Acting)

In addition, comedian Kevin Hart owns two GNX vehicles as part of the Kevin Hart Kollection. One is a factory stock GNX. The other was customized by Sean Smith of Salvaggio Design and introduced at the 2022 SEMA Show in Las Vegas as The Dark Knight (see LA Car’s Kevin Hart’s Desires at the Los Angeles Auto Show). 

As for Kendrick Lamar, his association with the GNX goes back to his birth. Born in the same year of the original GNX, Complex magazine reported in a 2012 interview that Lamar's father brought young Kendrick home from the hospital in a Buick Regal. 

Aside from the family connection, GNX the album deals with themes of authenticity. The Grammy-winning “Not Like Us” from the album is famously known as a diss track aimed at Canadian rap artist Drake. It’s also about authenticity, which is a major factor in GNX ownership. Aside from the special serial numbers, every GNX has a dashboard badge identifying its exact unit number among the 547 produced (see accompanying photograph).   

2027 Should Be The Year General Motors Re-Introduces A New GNX

All the more reason why there should be a GNX in the GM model line-up. 2027 will be the 40th anniversary of the GNX. So why not aim for a 2027 GNX? The target is doable. GM doesn’t need to build it from the ground up; the original GNX certainly wasn’t a ground-up design.

And General Motors need not make it a Buick. The original car was created because Buick won NASCAR’s Manufacturers Cup. Buick is no longer involved in NASCAR. And neither is Cadillac. So that rules out a couple of otherwise strong contenders from the GM stable like the Cadillac CT4 and CT5 Blackwings to base the car on.

Currently, the only General Motors division competing in the NASCAR Cup Series is Chevrolet. Chevy has been fielding Camaro-bodied racers in NASCAR, but the showroom Camaro was discontinued after the 2024 model year. So what can serve as the basis for a new GNX? 

What the New GNX Should Be Based On

On February 10, 2025, General Motors announced the car that points the way to the ideal GNX candidate: The Chevrolet Blazer EV.R NASCAR prototype. According to GM’s press release issued three days later, “The prototype delivers over 1,300 horsepower from three six-phase electric motors that instantly rev up to 15,000 rpm, powered by a 78-kWh liquid-cooled battery.”

In GM’s own words: “The Blazer EV.R is an example of Chevrolet continuing to test, learn, and explore new technologies that could be applied to both race programs and production cars.”

“While we will continue to race our proven and winning V8 technology in NASCAR for years to come, we continually look for ways to improve the combination of power, durability, and efficiency to transfer learnings from the racetrack to the showroom, especially as we bolster Chevy’s consumer EV lineup,” said Eric Warren, executive director, global motorsports competition for General Motors to explain why it’s going for the electric connection.

Of course, the production car need not be as radically powered as the racecar prototype. The current production Blazer EV SS is plenty potent to serve as the foundation for a GNX. With 615 horsepower and 650 pound-feet of instantaneous torque, it's already the quickest SS model Chevrolet has ever produced (0-60 mph in 3.4 seconds). It also has the brakes to match its forward thrust, courtesy of Brembo. 

With some further tuning to up the performance and an appropriate Darth Vader paint job, the Blazer EV SS is the ideal basis for a new GNX. The car already has front fender air flow vents—a signature design feature of the original GNX. 

Let’s Do It, General Motors

Will the car sell? GM should easily match the original volume of 547, and well beyond if desired. More importantly, a Blazer EV SS GNX can serve as an excellent halo car for a younger clientele. And this halo car should be miles more affordable than the $325,000 Mustang GTD over at the Ford stable (by about $250,000—the Blazer EV SS on which the GNX can be based on goes for $60,600).

Will it happen? Well, it turns out the current GM President, Mark Reuss, once worked on the original GNX project. His father, Lloyd Reuss, led the Grand National project for Buick back in the day (GM's Mark Reus, the big game, and the story of the Buick GNX). Surely, the current buzz over the 40-year old GNX has not gone unnoticed to Mark? 

It’s time to start sending your emails to Mr. Reuss and his corporate communications department. In the meantime, we await an announcement for the re-emergence of the most obvious new halo car the General should be selling.