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2026 Honda Ridgeline ReviewKeeping Pace With this ‘72 Hurst/Olds Cutlass
The 1972 Hurst/Olds Cutlass pace car reveals “your father’s Oldsmobile” was actually a classic muscle car with a 455 V8.
Your Father’s Oldsmobile Was Better
In 1988, Oldsmobile shifted the long-running Cutlass Supreme name to a new front-wheel drive W-bodied two-door. Promotion for the ‘88 Cutlass Supreme included a memorable bit of marketing that emphasized the youthful exuberance of the new model capped with the tagline, “Not your father’s Oldsmobile.” It was a bold stroke, impugning your past successes as antiquated and your loyal customers as old. The trick was Oldsmobile wasn’t making an appeal to a younger demographic. Rather they were offering their current customers a chance to recapture a feeling of rebelliousness and adventure they thought they’d left long behind.
And yet, the real joke of that tagline was that your father’s Oldsmobile was probably a lot cooler and faster than the ’88 Cutlass Supreme could ever hope to be. Indeed, the Oldsmobile Cutlass nameplate had the dual distinctions of birthing the legendary Olds 442 muscle car and besting Ford and Chevy as the top-selling intermediate-sized car during the middle 1970s. Oh, and the Cutlass Supreme even managed an appearance as the 1972 Indy 500 pace car, an honor commemorated by a series of Hurst/Olds factory replicas which are today, rare collector’s items from the golden era of muscle cars.
To best illustrate the superiority of “your father’s Oldsmobile,” we picked out one of those rare Olds/Hurst Cutlass pace cars. With its distinctive livery and 455 V8 under the hood, this car brings back the days when your dad’s Oldsmobile was the coolest car on the block.
The Third-Generation Cutlass
Our Indy Pace car hails from the final year of the Oldsmobile Cutlass’s third generation spanning the 1968 through 1972 model years. The Cutlass name originated decades before as a 1954 GM show car. The name made the jump to an actual production car when the 1961 Oldsmobile F-85 was given a mid-year addition of a two-door coupe. The second-generation Cutlass originated the 442 for 1964 as Oldsmobile’s answer to Pontiac’s breakout GTO.
The third-generation Cutlass was offered in several configurations including four-door sedan, hardtop, and wagon iterations as well as two-door coupe, hardtop, and convertible options. The 442 was briefly given its own nameplate through the 1971 model year before returning as a Cutlass trim option for 1972. Engines included the 250 cu.-in. straight six, Olds’s own 350 V8, and a 400 cu.-in. V8.
Starting in 1968, Oldsmobile began a dedicated collaboration with Hurst Performance to produce Hurst/Olds 442s. These ran a larger 455 V8, rated to 390 horsepower, despite GM banning engines larger than 400 cu.-in. to intermediate-sized cars, a policy they would definitively walk away from with the 445-equipped 1970 GTO. Oldsmobile justified their deviation from the rule under the guise of low-number special editions. In addition to the 455 V8, the Hurst/Olds 442 got Hurst’s famous dual-gated shifter, a Peruvian silver paint (borrowed from the Toronado) and options for power front disc brakes and a wood trimmed steering wheel.
For the 1972 Indy 500 pace car, the Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme was given a similar Hurst treatment, including the addition of the 455 V8. To honor the occasion, Oldsmobile built a limited run of 630 factory replicas of the Hurst/Olds Cutlass Supreme pace car, 25 percent of which were built as convertibles like the original, and all with the original “Official Pace Car” livery emblazoned on the side.
This Rare Cutlass Pace Car
Which brings us to our highlighted listing, a beautifully kept example from the limited 630-unit run of 1972 Hurst/Old Cutlass Supreme pace cars. This car comes with the factory original finish of Cameo White with gold accenting and pace car decals. The car retains the original 14 Super Stock wheels, including a full-size matching spare. Under the hood is the 455 cu.-in. V8 with Rochester Quadrajet carburetor with power fed through a Turbo 400 automatic to the rear wheels. The Ram Air hood with dual intakes is indeed functional and accompanied by a tasteful set of hood pins.
The interior comes outfitted with black vinyl bucket seats and faux wood applique on the dash and doors for extra flair. Of course, there’s also the Hurst dual-gated shifter along with a two-spoke steering wheel. For a 50-plus-year-old classic, this car is in stellar condition from top to bottom, inside and out. With its massive 455 V8, unique history, and head-turning curb appeal, this 1972 Hurst/Olds Cutlass pace car is unmistakable evidence that “your father’s Oldsmobile” was a lot cooler than the ’88 Cutlass Supreme. This piece of automotive history can be yours for $52,990.
