Car Throttle

Since the restructuring of General Motors, all the existing brands have started to transform. With only half the brands they once had for the US market, GM needs each of it’s divisions to cover more of the market.  And if ever there was a sign that GM is not afraid of change, and the future in general, it’s gotta be this: the Buick Regal GS “concept.”

You’ve probably already had an earful on the new Regal by this point.  If you haven’t, here’s the cliff notes:  Take one Opel Insignia, mix with Buick grille and badges, and bam – instant Regal!  This isn’t the first time GM has slung Adam Opel’s wares as Buicks in the US (Remember the old Buick-Opels?  Buick-Opel-Isuzus?), but it’s probably going to work out a lot better than it did the last time around.

The Regal GS Concept, which debuts at the Detroit Show this year, is the hot-rod version of what is already the most interesting Buick since… well, since the Grand National went out of production in 1987.  And while it looks almost exactly like an Insignia OPC, there are a few important differences.

While in Europe the OPC/VXR Insignias are treated to a 2.8L 24v twin-scroll turbo V6 (Saab!) engine with 325bhp, the Regal GS gets…  a four-cylinder.  This is in keeping with Buick’s 4-cylinder-only placement for the Regal, which sits below the (snore) LaCrosse in the US lineup.  But don’t cry: it’s a cracker of an engine.

Based on GM’s EcoTec LNF, it’s a 2.0L 16v I4 with direct-injection and turbocharging.  Basically, the same motor that’s in the Regal 2.0T, only turned up to 11… or 12.  Power output climbs from 220bhp to 255bhp, along with a meat 295lb-ft (400nM) of torque.  And most interesting, this hot-rod turbo motor is mated to… a six-speed manual transmission!  In a Buick!  The times, they are a-changin’.

Power goes through the aforementioned six-speed row-your-own, before it’s fed to all four wheels through a sophisticated Haldex IV AWD setup.  This is a reactive AWD system for transverse front-engine cars, that incorporates the neat torque-vectoring eLSD rear differential, which originally debuted on the Saab Turbo X in 2008.  Of course, by now BMW and Audi and who knows how many others have blatantly copied this idea, but that’s how the cookie crumbles.

The Regal GS is treated to the full OPC/VXR body treatment, with slick 19″ alloys, hungry-looking front bumper, dual exhaust outlets integrated into the rear bumper fascia, and some huge 14″ cross-drilled Brembo brake rotors.  Besides the super-aggro front bumper, it’s actually a fairly restrained, attractive design – not the type of thing we’re used to seeing out of GM.

Interior goodies include a thick, leather-wrapped flat bottom steering wheel, cushy-looking Recaro sports seats, and the IDCS (Interactive Driver Control System) which allows the GS pilot to select how reactive the steering, throttle, and shift patterns (with the presumably available automatic trans) are, as well as variable damper settings.  Again, in a Buick. What’s the world coming to?

I am admittedly openly quite anti-GM.  This car would’ve made way more sense as, say, the new Saab 9-3.  Considering it’s mostly Saab underneath, at least we know that all the Swedish company’s know-how wasn’t put to waste before being put out to pasture.  But if they keep making cars that are this good (at least on paper), it’s going to be hard to dislike GM cars on anything more than sheer principle.  Bring it on.