I’m a sucker for rare colors, especially on interesting cars like this 1987 Buick Regal that features the desirable turbocharged V6 engine. In any other universe, this is the ultimate grandpa car, but thanks to a healthy amount of boost and cold-air-huffing intercooler, the Regal Turbo Coupe offered impressive performance out of the box with the ability to put down loads more with some simple tweaks. Find this Regal Turbo Coupe here on eBay with bidding over $7K and the reserve unmet.
Brown is such a perfect color for a Regal coupe, and with the rise in popularity of once-common shades like this, I’m not surprised to see the bidding activity on this one. Combined with the nondescript exterior and that 235 b.h.p. V6 under the hood, this Regal was one of the most underappreciated sleepers of its day. I blame the attention given to the Grand National and GNX for leaving the turbocharged Regal coupe on the sidelines, but no more – enthusiasts have been waking up to these cars for a while.
The Regal is all-original, from its paint to its interior. The seats show well, as do the carpets and door panels – not easy to do with an interior color like this, but it should hide coffee stains pretty well. The seller says it runs well with just 78,000 miles and that the A/C is still ice cold. It also has the upgraded “Concert Sound” option, but I doubt it would still impress today. While not everyone may love the brown on tan color combo, I think it’s quite handsome – and nondescript, as it should be for a sleeper.
These engines have proven themselves capable of being on the receiving end of modifications that double or even triple the power output without breaking a sweat. The cleanliness underhood inspires confidence that no major modifications have ever been performed to this Regal, so the next owner will be able to either keep it completely stock or build a sleeper that I’d love to see go head-to-head with a Mustang SVO of the same era. How would you build it?
Finally a turbobrick that isn’t black with 9 miles! I find these t-types way more interesting and desirable than the GN’s, and I’m a sucker for anything brown or tan. This one checks a lot of boxes for me. I wish I could afford it. It’s very close to how I would have optioned it new myself. I would restore it cosmetically stock. Maybe change the wheels. I wouldn’t be able to resist modding the hell out of the rest of it though. So much sleeper potential. I just pray this doesn’t get turned into another GNX clone. They made tons of grand nationals, and not many t-types. You would think these would be worth more, but nope.
It’s Turbo T 87 only. 84-86 T-type
Good thing those seats would hide the stains of a Cappamochalattechino, no one would believe you’re driving a performance car, let alone hard enough to spill it. Put your foot into it, and drink black coffee in a car with 235 hp, a beige interior and no cup holders. Manly stuff.
Lots of photos shot at an angle. My neck hurts. The seller is one of those dudes that tilts the camera to get everything in the picture, OR maybe, just maybe, take a few steps back and everything will easily be horizontal.
I like the reference to ‘rare’ paint. I could be wrong but sure looks like the exact same color scheme I got on my 74 Malibu (my exterior might have been a tad darker). Same exterior, same vinyl top color and same interior. Biggest difference was mine was a 350 3 speed manual, instead of a V6 Turbo automatic.
Be nice to add a few tweaks to it and see how many mouths might drop in the right situation (on the drag strip)
I love these classics. This era Buick, was of the nature of what Harry Gant based the Skoal Bandit NASCAR ride on at the time. A few US Tobacco company sales guys got issued a similar looking ride to go sell Skoal in that mirrored the race car. The car here if I bought it would go in the shop and be redone to that Skoal Bandit look.