Let’s say you’re in love with American motoring history, you have a set of creative skills and you wish to digitally restore a brand’s past glory. Sure, there are many marques waiting to be polished once again, but you can’t go wrong with Buick, which, at least on its home market, is not what it used to be for quite some time. Well, how about a new-age take on the Regal GS performance offering to bring back the heat?
While discussing a similar pixel attempt to bring Buick back under the spotlights, we covered the financial mechanism that keeps the marque alive (we’re glad it didn’t follow other former GM brands like Pontiac or Oldsmobile into post-2008 crisis retirement), which involves an early start (among US carmakers) and booming sales over in China.
However, with the company’s current U.S. lineup consisting of three crossovers and arguably a vague image, the present effort bring back the Regal that was discontinued in 2020 when Buick, like other carmakers in America, killed off the last of its sedans.
Graphic designer Jim (aka jlord8), an avid 80s and 90s American metal aficionado and owner of an ’86 Regal T-Type decided to channel this passion to come up with a new Regal GS.
The Grand Sport moniker has a vast history, even though it wasn’t always a true performer and doesn’t spark the same hall-of-velocity-fame memories as the GN/GNX label of the mid/late ’80s. Nevertheless, the GS has gone from a mere cosmetic pack on the Gen III Regal (’88-’96) to a little ball of supercharged V6 fury for the Gen IV (’97-’04), while continuing to take various go-fast forms until the recent axing of the Regal.
Having established the potential of the Regal GS designation, we’ll move on to the 2D work occupying our screens, which puts a showroom-familiar Buick face—the Verano—on the also-familiar body of the Gen VI Chevy Camaro.
And, to keep the connection with what’s currently available on the performance side of the GM parts bin and stick to the non-V8 heritage of the label, the engine bay could be occupied by Cadillac’s 3.6L twin-turbo V6, which should mean in excess of 470 hp and a choice between a six-speed manual and a ten-speed automatic.
While we die-hard enthusiasts can dream about such revivals all day long, internal combustion engines are on a collision course with the ever-stricter emission regulations, so our hopes would better head for a different direction.
For one, such a rendering showcases the kind of attitude we’d love to see on the (probable) future Buick EVs.