What is it?
2008 Buick Lacrosse Super
What's special about it?
Because every self-respecting carmaker must have a performance-oriented subbrand (AMG, M, R, S, RS, SS, SRT, V...you get the picture) at the New York auto show in April, Buick will unveil a pair of high-performance versions of its existing sedans, the Lacrosse and the Lucerne.
If the Lacrosse Super seems like a familiar concept, it's because Buick has used the same basic formula that has been used to create the Chevy Impala SS and Pontiac Grand Prix GXP. The formula: Turn a pushrod V8 sideways and shove it into the engine bay of a front-drive platform that usually carries a V6.
Unlike the Impala SS, the company notes that the Lacrosse Super has been developed with GM's Performance Division, the same folks who create the V-Series for Cadillac. John Heinricy, resident fast driver of the Performance Division, says the suspension tuning has been inspired by the ride quality and road behavior of 1980s Jaguars and the first-generation Oldsmobile Aurora. We take this to mean that the goal for the Lacrosse Super is to deliver a higher level of control than the standard car, but without sacrificing any ride sophistication. These are also two of the oddest cars used for comparison that we've heard at a press conference in, well, ever.
To achieve this ride-and-handling character, Buick has fitted monotube Bilstein dampers, stiffer antiroll bars and 18-inch wheels. The Super also uses a rack-and-pinion steering system with a new rack that features stiffer teeth with less gear lash for a better steering feel. The steering ratio is unchanged. Buick also grabbed the bigger brakes from the Lucerne and bolted them to the Super.
The 300-horsepower, 5.3-liter V8 has been mated to a conventional four-speed automatic and exhales through dual exhausts with 3.5-inch shiny tips. Buick reckons this will be enough juice to get the Super to 60 mph in 5.7 seconds.
The Lacrosse Super, which goes on sale this summer, is dressed up with a big, shiny new front grille (which will be used on all 2008 Lacrosses), a vestigial spoiler on the trunk deck, rocker-sill extensions and portholes — the function of which is to look like portholes. The Super's front seats are more heavily bolstered than the essentially no-bolster arrangement of the standard Lacrosse seats. And all seats come with leather inserts embossed to look as if they were woven from strips of leather, which will make intricate patterns on the backs of Buick drivers who like to roll shirtless.
What's Edmunds' take?
It might be Super, but it's no GNX. — Daniel Pund, Senior Editor, Detroit
2008 Buick Lacrosse Super
What's special about it?
Because every self-respecting carmaker must have a performance-oriented subbrand (AMG, M, R, S, RS, SS, SRT, V...you get the picture) at the New York auto show in April, Buick will unveil a pair of high-performance versions of its existing sedans, the Lacrosse and the Lucerne.
If the Lacrosse Super seems like a familiar concept, it's because Buick has used the same basic formula that has been used to create the Chevy Impala SS and Pontiac Grand Prix GXP. The formula: Turn a pushrod V8 sideways and shove it into the engine bay of a front-drive platform that usually carries a V6.
Unlike the Impala SS, the company notes that the Lacrosse Super has been developed with GM's Performance Division, the same folks who create the V-Series for Cadillac. John Heinricy, resident fast driver of the Performance Division, says the suspension tuning has been inspired by the ride quality and road behavior of 1980s Jaguars and the first-generation Oldsmobile Aurora. We take this to mean that the goal for the Lacrosse Super is to deliver a higher level of control than the standard car, but without sacrificing any ride sophistication. These are also two of the oddest cars used for comparison that we've heard at a press conference in, well, ever.
To achieve this ride-and-handling character, Buick has fitted monotube Bilstein dampers, stiffer antiroll bars and 18-inch wheels. The Super also uses a rack-and-pinion steering system with a new rack that features stiffer teeth with less gear lash for a better steering feel. The steering ratio is unchanged. Buick also grabbed the bigger brakes from the Lucerne and bolted them to the Super.
The 300-horsepower, 5.3-liter V8 has been mated to a conventional four-speed automatic and exhales through dual exhausts with 3.5-inch shiny tips. Buick reckons this will be enough juice to get the Super to 60 mph in 5.7 seconds.
The Lacrosse Super, which goes on sale this summer, is dressed up with a big, shiny new front grille (which will be used on all 2008 Lacrosses), a vestigial spoiler on the trunk deck, rocker-sill extensions and portholes — the function of which is to look like portholes. The Super's front seats are more heavily bolstered than the essentially no-bolster arrangement of the standard Lacrosse seats. And all seats come with leather inserts embossed to look as if they were woven from strips of leather, which will make intricate patterns on the backs of Buick drivers who like to roll shirtless.
What's Edmunds' take?
It might be Super, but it's no GNX. — Daniel Pund, Senior Editor, Detroit
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