1986 Buick Regal

The Regal name was part of the Buick model lineup for many years, first appearing in 1973 as a highly trimmed version of the Century. It was dropped in 1975 but re-appeared in 1978 powered by Buick's new 196 cubic-inch V6 engine as standard equipment.

For 1986, the Buick Regal remained as a rear-wheel-drive coupe available as a base, Limited, and T Type trim designations. The T Type had a new intercooler for the turbocharged 3.8 liter V6. The fuel-injected turbo engine offered 235 horsepower and 330 pound-feet of torque. T Type models had a blacked-out trimmed grille, windows, wipers, and headlamp bezels. They also had a modified tail-lamp treatment with black moldings. They rode on low-profile tires and aluminum wheels. There were body-colored sport mirrors, a trip odometer, turbo boost gauge, LED tachometer, air conditioning, and a leather-wrapped steering wheel.

For many years, Buick had built high-performance turbo-charged pushrod V-6 engines for Indy car competition. Taking advantage of the money and time spent on Research and Development, and race support, Buick introduced the Grand National in 1982 with the optional, 175 horsepower, 275-lb-ft torque turbocharged powerplant. These were among the highest performance vehicles during the mid-1980s and successfully combined performance, fuel economy, and comfort. The culmination of their efforts appeared in 1986 and 1987 with the highly desirable and sought after Grand Nationals. By 1986, the engines had gained sequential fuel injection with a distributor-less ignition, and with the help of a Garrett air-to-air intercooler, horsepower rose to 235 hp.

The Grand National models had an all-black body, air dam and spoiler, and was devoid of any chrome or brightwork. They had chrome-plated wheels, Gran Touring suspension, and gray cloth bucket seats. The engine was the 3.8-liter V6 with sequential port fuel injection, and a single AiResearch turbocharger running 14 pounds per square inch of boost, and an air-to-air intercooler. It produced 235 horsepower at 4,400 RPM and 330 lb-ft of torque at 2,800 RPM and was mated to a four-speed 200R4 overdrive automatic transmission. Zero-to-sixty mph took 4.9 seconds and the quarter-mile time was achieved in sub-14-seconds.

In total, there were a total of 5,512 examples of the Grand Nationals produced. 39,734 examples of the base model were produced, along with 43,599 examples of the Regal Limited, and 7,896 of the T Type.

by Daniel Vaughan | Jul 2014