The 1987 Buick Grand National is a car that needs no introduction among enthusiasts. The GN's turbocharged and intercooled 3.8L V6 engine produced 245 horsepower, a figure that was extremely impressive at the time (and greater than that of the Corvette's 5.7L V8). Its "experimental" sibling the GNX pushed the limit even further, outrunning Ferraris and Porsches to become one of the world's fastest production cars. This year at the 2024 SEMA Show in Las Vegas, world-renowned custom builder Ringbrothers showed off their approach to building the ultimate Buick Grand National resto-mod.

What do you get when you squeeze two more cylinders, nearly double the displacement, and a second turbo into the engine bay of a 1987 Buick Grand National? In the case of Roadster Shop's custom '87 GN,  you get six and a half times the original power output. Yes, you read that right. The original 3.8L turbocharged V6 in this car produced 245hp, which made it very quick compared to most other cars of its era. The car seen here produces more than 6.5 times as much power with its 1,600hp 7.0L twin-turbo V8.

Interest in classic cars is often tied to the vehicles we owned (or aspired to own) when we were in our teenage years, so it should come as no surprise that cars from the 1980s are steadily increasing in popularity. The 1978-87 Buick Regal, Buick Grand National, and legendary Buick GNX are great examples of this trend. These G-body vehicles have always had a cult following in the lowrider and drag racing communities, but we're glad to see them developing an even broader appeal. The Regal has always been an excellent platform for affordable restoration and customization.

In case you've missed the big news, Classic Industries recently announced eight all-new catalogs for Buick and Oldsmobile models, and we're excited to offer a wide array of classic car restoration parts for these models in the near future. Our catalogs will be coming soon for many of these vehicles, but the first one of these lines has already been released.

The Buick Grand National was an unconventional car, to say the least. Rather than sticking with the traditional American muscle car formula of squeezing a large-displacement V8 under the hood, GM engineers tried something different: a V6 with a turbocharger. This configuration was a major risk, since turbochargers were still in their infancy when Buick launched the first turbocharged Regal model in 1978. But, after working through a steep learning curve, the configuration produced some astonishing results.