General Motors left us on the edge of our seats at this year’s Detroit Auto Show when its Buick Regal GS show car was unveiled. A few months later, GM confirmed that the sportier Regal was headed for production, and now, just a short time before the sedan’s official debut at the Los Angeles Auto Show, we have official information and photos of the production-ready car. Ladies and gentlemen, the 2012 Buick Regal GS has arrived.
GM has, of late, made great strides to rework Buick’s image here in the United States, trying to inject some youth and enthusiasm in a brand that has long been associated with a much older crowd of buyers. This top-rung Regal is based heavily on the performance-oriented Opel Insignia OPC, one of Europe’s most praised sport sedans, and while the U.S.-spec car you see here certainly looks like it’s fresh off the boat, it has been toned-down in its transoceanic journey. We get the Opel’s beefed-up visuals with large, fang-like air intakes up front, big exhaust-work out back and optional 20-inch satin chrome wheels (19s are standard, if that’s more your style), but where the Regal GS begins to separate itself from the Insignia OPC isn’t visible from outside.
