1982 Buick Regal Sport Coupe and Grand National: the first Grand National

Buick introduced a limited-edition Grand National Regal for 1982, following its NASCAR manufacturer's championship. The cars began as charcoal gray Regals loaded with regular production options and were finished by outside contractor Cars and Concepts, which converted 215 cars against an original plan of only 100. The standard engine for the Grand National was the naturally aspirated 4.1-liter V-6 rated at 125 hp, though a small number of Grand Nationals were instead built on the turbocharged Sport Coupe package rather than with the standard engine.^1,2

The turbocharged Regal Sport Coupe was built 2,022 times in 1982, the lowest total of any turbo Regal year according to this record's own framing of the figure. Its turbo 3.8 was rated 175 hp at 4,000 rpm and 275 lb-ft at 2,600 rpm following a round of changes that included a smaller turbine housing, a larger downpipe, a normally closed wastegate, and standard dual exhaust with a 3.08 axle. Separately, and left genuinely unresolved in this record, is the number of Grand Nationals built with that turbocharged Sport Coupe package rather than the standard 4.1: this record's own production note states plainly that Buick did not keep a figure for these turbo Grand Nationals, and the three counts that do circulate span a wide range, 16 believed turbocharged from one source, approximately 25 from another, and at least 35, with fewer than 50 estimated, from a third, none of them treated as more authoritative than the others.^1,2,3

Pricing for the year layers several figures on top of one another. A base Regal, the starting point for a Grand National conversion, is given at $8,702; the Grand National package itself added $3,278, though the same source separately states that regular production options added roughly $3,500 more, bringing a typical total near $15,480, with the turbo Sport Coupe package adding a further $1,278 on top of that. A separate compilation prices what it labels the "1982 Buick Regal Gran Sport," a 180-hp turbo V-6 Regal, at $9,739 base; this record's own price note flags that the Sport Coupe is the only turbo Regal named in this year's other sources, so the Gran Sport label is kept exactly as printed in that source rather than corrected to match the Sport Coupe name used elsewhere.^1,4

The Grand National's standard 4.1-liter V-6 is rated 125 hp at 4,000 rpm and 205 lb-ft at 2,000 rpm. The turbo 3.8's 175-hp, 275-lb-ft rating carries its own internal alternate: this record's own engine note states that the same rating is also reported elsewhere as 170 hp at 3,800 rpm, a second figure attached to the identical engine entry rather than a separate dispute between two different sources. Two options are documented for the Sport Coupe specifically: RPO Y44, a decor package combining Designer's Accent Paint, a blacked-out grille and trim, wide rocker moldings, and a sport steering wheel, and RPO N78, cast aluminum wheels.^2,1

The Grand National's paint is described as a charcoal gray base with light silver-gray Firemist sides and red pinstripes, and its interior as Lear Siegler seats in silver brandon cloth with black vinyl inserts, a Buick "6" emblem embroidered on the front seats, and a clock-delete plate reading "Grand National Buick Motor Division." A turbocharged Grand National Sport Coupe can be identified by its hood bulge and turbo hood ornament, a boost gauge in place of the voltmeter, dual exhaust and the 3.08 axle, and by the absence of the fender and decklid emblems a standard Sport Coupe would otherwise carry. One further detail is disputed rather than missing: the location of contractor Cars and Concepts is given as Auburn Hills, Michigan by one source and Brighton, Michigan by another, with neither page stating a location for the company on its own account, a discrepancy this record's own conflict entry carries without choosing between the two.^1,3