1:18 Scale GMP 8003 1987 Buick GNX

Details about this Model:

Car Name: 1987 Buick GNX

GMP Part Number: 8003

Vehicle Color: black

Interior Color: black/gray

Production Run: 8547

Release Date: Nov 1999

Window Sticker Included: yes

Envelope For Window Sticker: yes

Lithograph Made: yes

Lithograph Production Quantity: 547

Litho Autographed by: M. Doble (Mike Doble)

COA Included: no

Outer Box: yes

Part of a Set/Group: no

THIS is the 3rd car in the series.
This is the only car in the entire series that came with a plain brown outer box.
(not surprising, since GMP didn’t know at the time that customers would be thrilled to get a fancy styled outer box with later purchases!)

With a first appearance of a new envelope (EE’s doing) to hold the window sticker, it had Epitome Exclusives logo, which was stamped in green ink (which the color would end up being different for each new model released) and had the cars GNX number written on it.

Interestingly, when they printed the replica window sticker, they left out the last 4 digits of the VIN number!

This is the first car that Epitome Exclusives participated in.
They were responsible for the special lithograph (also the first litho ever created for this series) being produced, as well as starting up the Buick 300 Gold Club with this car!
The lithos came inside their own box, ink stamped on the top left with the EE logo (in green, same as the window sticker envelope), and showed the L/E production run car number handwritten on it.
The 11″ tall x 14″ wide lithographs were hand numbered to 547 copies, and personally autographed by Mike Doble, using a silver ink pen.
The Epitome Exclusives logo is shown at the bottom (in the center), with a picture of the GNX model & the car number stamped on the lower right side.

The model itself has the GNX turbo shield (with the word GNX printed on it), and correct appearing grill & trunk emblems, as well as (standard to GNX) fender vents & flares.
The chassis featured the special GNX-only rear end, and a sticker on the spare tire wheel well that stated “ee GNX 032” meaning: Epitome Exclusives, GNX (the car type), and 032 (the car number from this production run).
{this would be 1 of only 2 cars to receive a sticker like this, the other car being the next one in this series (8004; Autumn Maple T type). Apparently Epitome figured these weren’t necessary once they saw how the process was developing in this series, and later cars would actually have the car number printed on the license plate, making these stickers obselete}.

The interior of the vehicle shows a simulation of the ASC created dash, the correct tri-shield logo on the steering wheel, but no numbered dash plate like the real GNX has.

You could own a Buick GNX back in 1987 for the sticker price of $29,290! (that’s of course, assuming you could find a dealer that would sell you one at that price, since most dealers were charging a $10,000 premium over sticker at the time!)

The Lithograph says:

547 GNX’s: Buick’s Mike Doble Creates A Legend

The Legendary 1987 Buick GNX was born from the mind of Buick’s Mike Doble. As concept vehicles and technology manager of Buick Motor Division, Doble was asked to create a special edition of the very powerful and popular, yet retiring, Grand National. Rather than a simple body trim option, Doble envisioned a more complete package, in fact, the most complete muscle car ever to be built. In 1987, his conception became a automotive history, when Buick unleashed 547 tire shredding GNX’s onto America’s roadways and raceways. From it’s fully functional ladder bar suspension and quick spooling ceramic turbocharger to it’s engineered fender vents and wild fender flares, the GNX screams acceleration. It’s low 13 second quarter mile E.T.’s and easy tuneability into the 12s make Buick enthusiasts salivate and most drag strip competition say “uncle”, even today. Mike Doble and 547 individually numbered Buick GNX’s have made their mark on the automotive industry and on countless thousands of drag racers who can’t believe their beastly V* was just savagely devoured by a “little” Buick V6. When asked if the 1987 Buick GNX is the complete muscle car he originally envisioned, Mike Doble enthusiastically answers………. “mission accomplished and more!”

The Box says:

Then GNX was designed to be the “Grand National to end all Grand Nationals.” Outwardly the GNX resembles the Grand National but the modifications performed on these cars make them one of the fastest, best handling and most sought after cars Buick had ever built. It was developed by the then Advanced Concepts & Marketing manager, Mike Doble. The car was to be converted by ASC/McLaren. McLaren had been involved with the original Buick/ McLaren V6 racer used at Indy and the 24 valve Wildcat concept car. McLaren had also developed some early prototypes of the intercooled Grand National. The basic concept was to build a car to be a full second quicker than the Grand National and improve it’s handling. Although plans called for engine blueprinting, head porting, special bearings, shot-peened rods, and a high rpm valve train, testing of stock Grand National engines showed that the GNX goal could be met without opening the engine. There were 547 GNXs built and all were 2 door coupes and optioned the same, there were no additions or deletions. To quote the owners manual, “The GNX is a special Grand National with certain modifications to accentuate it’s already outstanding performance.” Basically the body and drivetrain remained common with the turbocharged Regal Grand National with a few exceptions:

* Ceramic turbine wheel turbocharger w/ High Efficiency intercooler to improve boost response

* Recalibrated PROM (Computer Chip) to maximize the advantages of the ceramic turbine

* Functional front fender air exhaust louvers

* Free Flow Dual Exhaust System

* Redesigned rear suspension utilizing a longitudinal torque bar, panhard bar, and differential cover.

* Transmission “NEW” cushion servo, pressure spring, and new shift calibration

* Auxiliary transmission cooler

* 16″ Aluminum Allow Wheels

* Goodyear Eagle VR “Gatorback” performance tires (245/50VR16 Front & 255/VR16 Rear)

* Modified wheel openings and fender flare to accommodate the larger wheels and tires

* Full analog instrumentation gauge cluster

* Unique GNX emblems, badges, and identification

More interesting info from Ted Hirsch:
Only the GNX cars that came with lithographs from Epitome Exclusives had the special tamper proof decals on the underside on the spare tire well. They are too thin to be removed and placed on another car. This helps sort out if a diecast car was originally sold with the lithograph from Epitome Exclusives.

(you can see the sticker in the very last photo above)

If you missed the descriptive overview on these 1:18 scale models:
GMP Turbo Buick Series

NEXT car in the series: 1985 Buick Regal T-type (Autumn Maple).
Be SURE to check back tomorrow to see it!

Want to see a list of ALL the Buick Regal diecast cars ever produced? (including GMP & many more). >>> Turbo Regal Scale Cars <<<

****** ** *** *
BEHIND THE SCENES STORY FROM
TED HIRSCH, EPITOME EXCLUSIVES:

Dennis Kirban’s Nitely History has inspired me to tell the story of Epitome Exclusives and what I believe was a pretty incredible set of historically significant Turbo Buick diecast collectibles.
Many of you in this group already know me and the story of Epitome Exclusives and our Buick 300 GOLD Club that started just about 20 years ago.
It all started when Epitome Exclusives made a deal to purchase serial numbers 1-547 of the soon to be released 1:18th scale GMP Diecast 1987 Buick GNX.
We then hired well known portrait artist Y. Haruni to create a picture of a GNX that incorporated a portrait of Mike Doble.
547 serial numbered lithographs (all personally signed by Mike Doble) were run off and each was packaged with its corresponding GNX diecast model and serialized window sticker.
We took preorders from GNX owners exclusively for 6 months, before opening up the ordering to non GNX owners.
All 547 sets were sold out before they were released.

So now, here’s the reason I decided to post what will be a series of stories.
I met some pretty historic Turbo Buick people along the way to releasing 15+ Turbo Buick models with GMP.

Let’s take the previously mentioned, Mike Doble. Without Mike Doble, the GNX as we know it would have never happened.
He was in charge of Concept Vehicles and Technology for Buick Motor Division in 1987.
When it was decided that the Grand National was coming to an end, he was approached about coming up with a 200 car run of special edition Grand Nationals, perhaps a body package of some sort.
Mike Doble had grander ideas and put together the people to engineer the GNX we love today.
Several times in the lead up to the GNXs being produced, he was asked to scale it back to something much less than what it came to be.
He successfully fought off those changes every time.

When I went and spent most of a day with him in Detroit so he could sign the lithographs, he told me that most people in his business go their entire careers and never get to build a car entirely the way they wanted to.
Mr. Doble was very proud of his creation and how he got it done the way he wanted.

On a personal level for me, here is my favorite part of the day I got to spend with him.
When the signing was done and he was leaving, he asked me to walk out to his truck with him.
He wanted to show me something.
He pulled out this big art portfolio and then explained to me that for the following year, 2000, Buick was going to build a concept/show car for the new millennium.
All the artwork was from different concept car building companies, their submissions to try and win the contract to build this year 2000 concept/show car for Buick.
He slowly paged through each work of art, they all seemed beautiful to me.
Then he turned the page and stopped, tapping his finger on the final submission and said “I think this is the one we are going with.”
And that is how the Buick Blackhawk came to be.

I had no idea of the significance at the time, but I realized it a few years later, when Buick was at the GS Nationals in Kentucky.
The Blackhawk was there in its own tractor trailer with its own Blackhawk logo on the side.
They were giving people rides in it.
It was only then that I realized the perk Mike Doble had given me in showing me that artwork before it was ever built.

****** ** *** *

share