Buick probably isn’t quite the first name that springs to mind when you’re asked to think of a manufacturer with a factory racing effort, but the premium General Motors brand did indeed participate in motorsports for many years. The height of Buick’s motor racing exploits came in the 1980s, during which time the stories automotive marque had its hand in NASCAR’s Cup Series, IndyCar, and the IMSA GT Series.
The marque didn’t put just any old Buick in the IMSA GT Series, though. They entered a potent, 800-horsepower beast with a chassis by March Engineering into the top-spec Grand Touring Prototype – or GTP – class. That unholy, fire-breathing 1985 March-Buick GTP can be seen and heard in the video above, courtesy of Racer Magazine.
The driver in the clip is one Ken Dobson – a professional driver who competes in the American Le Mans Series and Grand-Am Rolex. He took the March-Buick GTP around WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca during Monterey Car Week earlier in the month, as part of the Rolex Monterey Motorsport Reunion – a four-day event in which a collection of vintage racing machines get flogged at the world-famous racetrack.
Despite taking pole position at the 24 Hours of Daytona in 1985, the March-Buick GTP didn’t leave behind much of a legacy; indeed, chances are pretty good that you hadn’t heard of it until just now. But so long as the car continues to pop out of storage now and again for events like this, the 800-horsepower prototype can be enjoyed by performance enthusiasts everywhere for years to come.
(Hat-tip: Road & Track)
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