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2026 Subaru Crosstrek ReviewMake a Wish Upon this 1961 Oldsmobile Starfire
Once Oldsmobile’s premier personal luxury car, this 1961 Starfire convertible combines legit performance with sumptuous styling.
Olds School Oldsmobile
Car body styles rise and fall in popularity as times and tastes continually shift. Where there once had been station wagons there were minivans. Where once there were minivans there are now SUVs. And while station wagons and minivans are still newly built today, the same cannot be said for a once-popular personal luxury car. The Ford Thunderbird was the progenitor of this genre, spitting the difference between performance and luxury appointments for a uniquely elegant blend of both. Naturally, the T-bird had plenty of imitators, including the Oldsmobile Starfire.
The Starfire’s short stint through the early and middle 1960s wasn’t especially impactful and sales were tepid. Yet, mediocre sales during its production run means the Olds Starfire is a rare bird today, especially in good condition. Thus, the gorgeously maintained 1961 Oldsmobile Starfire we found on Carsforsale.com is a rarity worth highlighting.
Starfire’s Comet-like Run
The Starfire name was first used on convertible version of the 98 De Luxe which debuted at the 1953 GM Motorama car show. Drop top 98s carried the Starfire name through the 1957 model year (the hardtop carrying the Holiday name). After a brief hiatus, Oldsmobile brought back the Starfire name as an offshoot of Olds’ B-body 88.
For its inaugural 1961 model year, the Oldsmobile Starfire was offered as a two-seat convertible only. Power came from a 394 cu.-in. Rocket V8 making 330 horsepower and 440 lb.-ft. of torque, Oldsmobile’s most powerful engine that year. As a personal luxury car, the Starfire offered amenities like a center console (with shifter for the three-speed Hydra-Matic) and leather Strato bucket seats. The car’s most notable feature is the massive side spear running the length of the car. The Starfire sold a modest 7,604 units (roughly a tenth of the Thunderbird’s sales) at a price of $4,600.
1962 proved to be the Starfire’s most successful year. Major revisions included the introduction of a coupe version and a wider side spear of brushed aluminum with chrome accenting. Compression was upped to 10.5:1, adding 15 horsepower to the 394’s output. Sales peaked at around 42,000, spitting five to one for the coupe over the convertible. Sales dropped to 26,000 for the coupe and 4,400 for the convertible the following year as the Starfire was outsold by the Buick Rivera, Pontiac Grand Prix, and the segment-leading Ford Thunderbird.
For 1964, Oldsmobile dropped the Starfire’s signature side spear trim, swapping in the same basic body style as the new and less well-appointed Jetstar I (nope, they never did get to Jetstar II, making the name all the odder in retrospect). Both cars sold around 16,000 units apiece. A new engine, the 425 Super Rocket V8, was yet again Olds’ most powerful offering at 370 horsepower. However, it did little to improve sales of the 1965 Starfire which moved around 17,000 units.
With convertible sales barely cresting 2,200 for the 1965 model, Oldsmobile dropped the Starfire’s drop top option for its final 1966 model year. Meanwhile, the new and distinctive front-wheel drive Oldsmobile Toronado premiered that same year, taking up the mantel as Oldsmobile’s prime personal luxury car. The Starfire name was brought back a decade later as a badged-swapped version of Chevy Monza, the two-door hatch running a Buick V6 was a long way from the Starfire’s apex back in 1961.
This 1961 Oldsmobile Starfire
Speaking of which, it’s hard to argue that the Starfire ever looked better than it did in its first iteration back in 1961, as the example we found on Carsforsale.com demonstrates. Under the hood is the original 394 V8. The interior is spectacular with its red leather upholstery and chrome accenting. Note the unusual oval gauges and the linear speedometer which changes color from green to yellow to red if you’re really pushing it. This car comes in red with white accenting and looks spectacular with the top up or down. Sterling condition and rarity have this classic Oldsmobile Starfire priced at $94,900.
