This ain t your grandmas Buick Regal (and thank the car gods for that!!!)! Pics and info after the jump.


I mentioned in my review of Top Gear 14*7 that GM NEEDS to bring the Opel Insigna OPC (or Vauxhall Insigna VXR as the Brits know it) over stateside. And low and behold, two days later Buick officially unveils this  concept . Now, they re saying its only a concept and there s no plans for production YET. But come on GM, you know as well as everyone else that if you want Buick to be taken seriously, you NEED a car like this. Hell, I ll plainly admit I D ROCK IT! Seriously, I would not feel disappointed owning this car at all. Of course I m saying that before I ve even driven the thing. But, I ve read many reviews of the Opel OPC and they all praise it, especially its price, which should undercut it s rivals by a few thousands of dollars.


That being said, there is one thing that hasn t made the trip across the pond that has me disappointed. Seems the Yankee version will be powered by a 2.0L EcoTec Direct-Injection four-cylinder turbo motor, producing 260 HP and 260 lbs-ft of torque. However, the Opel and Vauxhall variants get a 2.8L V6 Turbo, which produces 321 HP and 321 lbs-ft of torque. That s a bit of a difference in my opinion. Yes, it does still get the 6-Speed manual transmission (thank GOD for that!) and it still gets AWD (double thank GOD for that!), but think of how much more competitive it could have been with 321HP!! That alone may be the reason I hold on to my Legacy over the Buick.


A lot of other really good bits have seem to made the trip over though. One thing I commented on in my Top Gear post was the awesome looking Recaros. Well, as you can see in the pics below, they re there! Proper seats in an American car!? Anyone care to check the current temperature in hell? Also, the Brembo breaks (because we all know Brembos = serious car business), the awesome looking 20 in. wheels, and (if the pictures don t lie) the sport and  super -sport (VXR mode in the Vauxhall) adjustable modes are all there as well. Seriously, if all this shit really makes it on to the production version, then that s just WIN for GM.


Hit up the post at AUTOBLOG for more info and press release!


Now I know some of you will say:  It s still an American car and it ll fall apart after one year . And indeed, that very well may be true. But I am not afraid to admit, I root for the American car companies now days. Look, I am NOT some rabid Japanese car fan-boy. I was born and raised in America, so I can t just not wish the companies here well. Especially when it SEEMS they re taking performance seriously now days (the new Mustang, the new Camaro, the CTS-V to name a few
).  If it drives well, looks good, and just overall WORKS, then I like it. Weather it be Japanese, German, or American. I m glad GM (seems to be) is pushing along the Regal GS, and I hope it does well. And who knows, maybe I will choose it over my Subaru!


But I still wouldn t choose it over a BMW. =p