It all started with a text from an unknown number on the Left Coast. The message instructed me to be ready for a transport that would take me to a location not far from my place at the Jersey Shore. It stated that I should be alone, camera in hand, and ready to report my findings back to this magazine on my return.

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A black SUV with blacked-out windows soon pulled up to my place. The driver told me I couldn't know exactly where we were going, but it wasn't far. We hit the pavement for a few miles, then veered off the beaten path, slicing through the countryside somewhere out in the Garden State's midsection. I could tell we were in Jersey's equine country from the smell of scrub pine and horse manure, but couldn't pinpoint my locale.

We pulled up to the front gate of a small horse farm, and I was instructed to wait at the entrance. As my ride pulled away, the gates opened and I walked in. Over the security system's call box I was assured that I was in the right spot and they would be with me shortly. Then I heard what I had come to see.

In the distance was the rumble of American muscle, with the whine of a healthy turbo filling in the patches of silence. That growl was a strikingly familiar sound from my old school days, a blast from the past for sure. I followed the tone as it traversed the property, with the car finally poking its nose out at the top of the long driveway. From a distance it looked like a Buick, maybe a worked-over Grand National. As it drew closer I realized it was no ordinary muscle car. It was a GNX, and a really nice one to boot. But this wasn't just any example, as I was about to find out.

What I was seeing was a ghost; a phantom in black, so to speak. It's a car that has been written about on many message boards, but has mostly escaped the camera for its 30-odd years of life. It was the last in line, the last GNX produced by GM, the one they call No. 547.

© Hot Rod Network Staff Talked about on message boards and Buick forums for years, GNX No. 547 has surfaced for public viewing. Some believed it never really existed, but these pictures prove it's real—and spectacular!

"We Have a Problem"

The story of this apparition of a GNX is an interesting one. It all started when Pittsburgh-area native Ron Sklenar decided to buy a Grand National. Being in the car resale business, it was easy for Ron to hunt down and procure the tasty ride.

However, through a car magazine he then learned about the all-new GNX and its limited release to select Buick dealerships. Ron was enthralled with the added performance the "X" had to offer and tried to locate an example for sale in his area. He soon found that most of the cars had been presold through the dealerships. Buick had claimed a couple as well, taking the first and last cars of the production sequence (numbers 1 and 500) for inclusion at the Sloan Museum.

Being in the business, he soon noticed that GNXs were being sold at dealer-only auctions, with prices skyrocketing to $75,000 in some instances—more than double the car's sub-$30,000 MSRP. And remember, that was in 1987, when $30,000 was one hell of a lot of money for new factory muscle.

Ron was not ready to pay that insane amount of money to own the ebony supercar, so he waited for all the hoopla to die down. Over the months, prices started to drop, and finally his patience paid off. Northside Buick in Pittsburgh was advertising its last GNX for sale. Ron immediately called the dealership and told the salesman that he would take the car sight-unseen for $32,000 cash. The offer was quickly accepted. Being that it was the holiday season, usually a slow time in the car business, the dealership thought it was in its best interest to make a quick buck on the supercar.

Ron went to the dealer right away to pick up his gleaming trophy. The GNX just screamed badass muscle car from every direction. There was no denying that what Buick had created was the best thing to come out of Detroit in years, and it gripped Ron's attention like a tightly wound-up torque wrench.

One thing Ron noticed about the car was the No. 547 badge mounted above the glovebox door. He knew that each GNX was numbered in order of production, and he was surprised to see that Buick had gone over its initial offering of 500 units. Ron didn't know if this was the last one off the line, but was assured by the dealership that it was definitely the last one they were getting for resale, as production had finally ceased at ASC/McLaren.

© Hot Rod Network Staff Dressed in black, the GNX was called the Darth Vader of muscle cars for good reason. With its sinister look and the decade's best performance numbers, the GNX will go down as a true-bred muscle car and live on as one of the most highly sought after models in the collector car marketplace.

A month later Ron received a call from the dealership. "We have a problem," the conversation started. "Turns out number 547 was the last off the production line, and GM would like to have it back." Now, Ron really loved that GNX and had every right to own the car. So he did what most muscle car guys would do. He said no.

"But they are offering you a refund of what you paid over sticker, plus a brand-new Reatta to boot," the salesman stated. If you remember, the Reatta was the new sporty Buick two-seater that lasted a few short years before the company pulled the plug.

Once again, the answer was a polite "no" from Ron. "I'm keeping it" was his final statement to the dealership.

This revelation made Ron a bit anxious about the car. So from that moment on, No. 547 was rarely taken out of the garage. Every six months or so he would take it out and drive it, if only for a few miles. And he never titled the car, so GM would really never know where the car was, or even if it still existed. It was kept on its Manufacturer's Statement of Origin. It became truly a phantom. Or maybe "phantom menace" better describes the powerful automotive giant.

The car racked up about 50 miles over the years, mainly on twice-yearly trips around the block. Ron was fine keeping the collectible car in his heated garage, knowing that he had a true piece of automotive history on his hands. But the need to drive a GNX soon got the best of him, so he did what most car guys would do if they had the means: He bought another GNX. This one was No. 115, and yes, Ron drove it. He was amazed at all the performance Buick had unleashed with this experimental model.

Ron never thought of selling No. 547. It's kind of hard to sell something that really had never existed in the public eye. But one day he received a call that would change all that.

© Hot Rod Network Staff The engine bay looks as it should for a car with just over 67 miles on it. Buick underrated the GNX's 3.8L turbo powerplant at 276 hp and 360 lb-ft of torque. However, actual numbers were more in the area of 300 hp and 420 lb-ft. Buick figured the GNX would get from zero to 60 in under 6.0 seconds and through the quarter-mile in 13.5.

It's Here

This chapter began when our secret GNX fan (let's call him MCS for short) decided he needed a GNX of his own. Now, MCS was well versed in the Buick supercar, knew all about No. 547, and frankly had dreams of owning the ghostmobile for himself. But for now he was just interested in finding a good example for his collection. He soon found a low-mileage GNX on an online auction site, which, it turns out, was being sold by Ron Sklenar's wife Chris for a dear friend. He called her, asked the typical questions a potential buyer would ask about the car, and mentioned that he really wanted No. 547 for his collection, but this one would have to do.

"Well, if you want number 547, then you should talk to my husband," she told MCS. "He owns the car and it's here with us." MCS was caught off-guard by her disclosure, but he pulled it together and got on the phone with Ron to talk about the car.

"I never was going to sell the car," says Ron. "He asked me what price I would part with the car for, and I gave him my 'I never want to sell it' price off the top of my head."

MCS said he'd take it, and just that quickly the car was changing hands. "It happened in a blur of a moment," MCS admits openly. "I never thought I'd find the car and have a chance to buy it. Ever."

Today, No. 547 enjoys the easy life at its new home in Jersey, living among several other amazing GM and Mopar collectibles in MCS's collection. The GNX is a crowning achievement in 1980s muscle car design, and this apparition proves it with the twist of the ignition key.

At a Glance

1987 Buick GNX

Owned by: MCS, New Jersey

Restored by: Original unrestored

Engine: 3.8L/276hp turbocharged V-6

Transmission: Modified Buick Turbo Hydramatic 200-R4

Rearend: GM 8.5-inch with 3.73 gears

Interior: Gray and black cloth bucket seat

Wheels: 16x7 mesh

Tires: 245/50VR16 front 255/50VR16 rear Goodyear Gatorback

Special parts: Final GNX produced; 67 original miles

002-1987-buick-gnx-547-rear-three-quarter

Talked about on message boards and Buick forums for years, GNX No. 547 has surfaced for public viewing. Some believed it never really existed, but these pictures prove it's real—and spectacul

< PREVIOUS SLIDE SLIDE 1 of 7 NEXT SLIDE > Under that neat cover, fabbed up for the GNX exclusively at the ASC/McLaren shop, is a Garrett AiResearch turbocharger that's unique to the GNX. It has a housing larger than other turbo Buicks and a ceramic impeller, and pushed more boost (15 psi) thanks to creative programming with the engine computer. © Hot Rod Network Staff

The "Baddest Buick Yet"

The mighty GNX was the result of a joint collaboration between Buick and ASC/McLaren Performance Technologies, reportedly hatched between the two forces at the 1985 Indy 500. Buick would soon send fully optioned Grand Nationals to the ASC/McLaren headquarters for their rebirth as the Grand National Experimental, GNX for short. This supercar would be the "Grand National to end all Grand Nationals."

ASC/McLaren made several upgrades to the Grand National's 3.8L V-6 drivetrain, including a special Garret T-3 turbocharger, which used a lightweight ceramic impeller for more efficient boost. This helped the turbo spin much faster and with less drag, increasing performance. Boost was set at 15 psi, and used a more proficient Garret air-to-air intercooler to improve cooling efficiency. The turbo plumbing was also coated with a ceramic/aluminum compound for better heat dissipation, which makes for cooler and denser air and thus more power. An updated ECU tune was the icing on the cake, pushing the engine to perform more efficiently when the hammer was dropped.

The GNX's 200-R4 transmission was modified to handle the extra power. To keep the trans fluid on the chill side, an auxiliary cooler was mounted up front. Vents in the fenders allowed more air to flow through the engine bay to relieve escalating temperatures as well. The factory single exhaust was also replaced by a newly designed dual-exhaust system with less restrictive mufflers to keep the spent gases flowing freely.

Suspension upgrades included a longitudinal, ladder-style traction bar for the rear axle to cut down on windup, reducing wheelhop and traction loss. A fabbed crossmember tied the chassis rail and supported the ladder bar. It also served as a driveshaft shield in case of cataclysmic U-joint failure. A custom Panhard rod was mounted to ensure lateral control and stability. The car also received a one-off alloy differential cover.

Inside the GNX, ASC/McLaren replaced the stock gauge cluster with a full complement of Stewart-Warner analog gauges. These included a turbo boost gauge; oil, fuel, and water gauges; a 160-mph speedo; and an 8,000-rpm tachometer. Each car received a plaque on the dash that identified the car's build number.

Last but not least, the GNX was offered in any color you wanted—as long as it was black. Sinister in appearance and all-powerful on the road, it inspired lots of references to "Darth Vader's car" in road tests of the day. Special composite fender flares were fitted at the corners, shrouding Goodyear Eagle VR tires mounted on lightweight 16-inch alloy lace wheels. All trim was blacked out, and badging was sparse. Small GNX callouts were placed on the radiator grille, rear decklid, and wheel center caps. The only other use of those three distinctive letters is on the turbo heat shield under the hood and the differential cover out back.