1988 Buick LeSabre T-Type Coupe 🇺🇸

Debuting for 1987 and little changed for 1988, the Buick LeSabre T-Type Coupe was built to qualify the LeSabre for NASCAR, replacing the 1986 Buick Grand National. It was built for two years, at a time when Buick had lost its way in the market.

By 1988, high-performance T-Type models had spread throughout the Buick lineup, although such doubtful candidates as the Skyhawk, Somerset, and Century T-Types were soon axed. Yet Buick executives bestowed its full-size LeSabre with a high-performance model. In another era, it would have been called the Wildcat and, in many ways, was its spiritual successor.

The LeSabre moved from the rear-wheel-drive B-Body platform to the front-wheel-drive H-Body platform, sharing many of its components and much of its underlying structure with Oldsmobile 88 and Pontiac Bonneville. But there were differences. Shod in Goodyear Eagle GTs on aluminum wheels and boasting the sportier FE-1 Gran Touring suspension, the front-wheel-drive LeSabre T-Type was dressed in the requisite Euro-style blackout trim, rather than Buick’s customary chrome. Even rarer for any LeSabre: it’s a coupe, a body style that would last through the 1991 model year. It employed Buick’s normally-aspirated 3.8-liter (231-CID) overhead-valve V-6 sending horsepower through a four-speed overdrive automatic transmission. Power front disc/rear drum brakes came standard, while anti-lock brakes were optional.

Drivers were treated to full analog instrumentation, as opposed to the speedometer and fuel gauge that was standard on most LeSabre models. The roomy cabin featured standard cloth upholstery that was accented by charcoal gray trim rather than the brushed metal typically fitted. Other standard features included air-conditioning, power steering, tinted glass, clock, AM/FM stereo radio with cassette player and graphic equalizer, 45/45 front seats with center console and cruise control.

“Our long-term goal was to build premium American motorcars," said LeSabre product-line manager Jon Lauckner at the time. And while it could be argued whether Buick made the right decision, there's no arguing that Buick's 1980s fixation with muscle produced some very interesting – and fun-to-drive – results. This was among the last of Buick’s attempts to lure the muscle car crowd.