The Buick Regal GS gets a green light
The range-topping Buick Regal GS – the US Insignia VXR – gets a green light for production once the Regal starts being built in North America instead of Germany.
As we said when GM revealed the Buick Regal GS as a concept at the Detroit Motor Show “Concept? Believe that and you’ll believe anything”. And so it is. GM have given the green light to production of the range-topping Buick Regal GS.
As the Buick Regal is effectively a Vauxhall Insignia with a Buick grill and a few US styling tweaks, it would be reasonable to assume that the Buick Regal GS would come equipped to burn rubber sporting the same 325bhp V6 the Insignia VRX enjoys in Europe. But it won’t.
Instead it will make do with an adequate – but hardly stunning – 255bhp courtesy of a blower bolted to the regular Regal 4-pot. It will get four wheel drive and some proper fettling and lowering of the suspension, so it’s no lame duck.
Although acknowledging that the Regal GS will be made, GM are giving no timescale. In truth, they will be waiting until they are geared up to produce the Regal in Canada instead of having them made in Germany and shipped in. That should be by next summer, so the Buick Regal GS will be a 2012 car.
And it might help towards lowering Buick’s average driver age down a decade or two – which is the aim.
Cliff. Buckby says
Will the Buick Encore be available in the uk soon under the Vauxhall umbrella. Please advise