Buick built 678 GSX muscle cars for the 1970 model year, and buyers could have one in only two colors. Most chose Saturn Yellow. Just 187 left the factory as an Apollo White Buick GSX, which makes the white car the scarcer of the pair by a wide margin.

That split matters to collectors today. With so few cars built, the color tells an owner how many twins a car could have. The figures below come from GM Authority, Hagerty and Old Cars Weekly, plus two recent auction records.

Here is what the GSX was, what it carried under the hood, and what the color breakdown actually looks like.

What Buick Put Into the 1970 GSX

The GSX was not a separate model. Instead, it was a package built on the Gran Sport. Old Cars Weekly describes it as “essentially a slightly dechromed GS 455 with front and rear spoilers, select painted trim and a decal package.”

The list of standard equipment was long. According to GM Authority, every GSX got side stripes, front and rear spoilers, sport mirrors and a hood-mounted tachometer. It also had GSX emblems on the dash and grille, a padded steering wheel, black bucket seats and a console shifter.

Buick upgraded the chassis too. For example, GM Authority lists anti-sway bars, a quad-link rear suspension, a limited-slip differential, quick-ratio steering and Firestone Wide Oval tires. In other words, the GSX was a dressed-up GS 455 with real handling hardware.

The 455 and Its 510 Pound-Feet of Torque

Every 1970 GSX used Buick’s 455-cubic-inch V8. According to Old Cars Weekly, the standard GS 455 engine made 350 horsepower and 510 lb-ft of torque.

Buyers could also add the Stage 1 option. That version made 360 horsepower, and its 510 lb-ft of torque arrived at 2,800 rpm, Old Cars Weekly says. GM Authority gives the same 360-horsepower and 510 lb-ft figures for the Stage 1.

Meanwhile, the GSX itself could be ordered with or without the Stage 1 engine, according to Old Cars Weekly. That is why the Stage 1 count is its own question.

Apollo White Buick GSX vs. Saturn Yellow: The 187-Car Split

Here is the breakdown. GM Authority reports 678 GSXs for 1970, with 491 in Saturn Yellow and 187 in Apollo White. Separately, Hagerty also gives 678 cars for 1970 and 187 in Apollo White.

So the white cars make up a little under 28% of the run. Put another way, for every Apollo White Buick GSX, Buick built more than two and a half yellow ones.

The finer splits are softer numbers. GM Authority estimates that about 400 of the 678 cars had the Stage 1 engine. It also estimates that about 282 had automatic transmissions. Those are estimates, not factory totals, so treat them as a guide.

One Apollo White GSX, Up Close

A white car featured by GM Authority in June 2024 shows what a documented example looks like. It was an Apollo White Stage 1 with a black vinyl interior and a Turbo-Hydramatic three-speed automatic.

That car received a restoration completed in 2010, according to GM Authority. It also came with its build sheet and its original Ohio title. Then it went up for sale on Bring a Trailer, with bidding set to close on July 1, 2024.

A Buick Engineer’s Concours GSX

Some GSXs ended up with owners who knew the cars from the inside. Hagerty tells the story of Larry Lyons, a General Motors Institute graduate who worked in Buick Product Engineering.

Lyons bought his 1970 GSX in 2008, after a long search. By then, it had already been through a six-year restoration by Ernie Baxendale. However, Lyons kept going and chased factory details down to a non-painted dipstick and the correct rear-shock lower bolts. As a result, the car earned a Gold Award at the 40th annual Buick GS Nationals in 2021, according to Hagerty.

What a 1970 GSX Brings at Auction

Values track the options and the paperwork. For instance, Classic.com’s record shows a 1970 GSX Stage 1 with an automatic selling at Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale on January 27, 2023. That car brought $132,000 as Lot 1080.

A manual car went higher. In January 2026, autoevolution reported a Saturn Yellow GSX Stage 1 with a four-speed manual selling for $198,000 including premiums. That car had a frame-off restoration and a numbers-matching drivetrain. It was also registered with the National GSX Historical Society.

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This article was created with the help of AI and was reviewed and edited by Fast Lane Only editors before publication.