Beginning with an 88 coupe in 1949, Oldsmobile has a stable historical past in supplying tempo automobiles for the legendary Indianapolis 500 race.
That historical past grew in 1970, when an Oldsmobile 442 pushed by racer Roger Ward carried Astronaut Pete Conrad and then-owner of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Tony Hulman across the observe.
However after the disastrous crash of the 1971 Dodge Challenger tempo automobile the next yr, GM and the remainder of Detroit’s Huge Three shied away from providing any of their automobiles for the 1972 race.
Undaunted, Hurst Efficiency jumped in with its specially-prepped Hurst/Olds fashions.
Although derived from an Oldsmobile Cutlass, technically talking, the Hurst/Olds got here from Hurst Efficiency, not GM. So the 1972 Hurst/Olds bears the excellence of being the one time a tempo automobile has been provided by an organization apart from an vehicle producer.
That additionally means the 1972 Hurst/Olds Indy 500 Tempo Automobile replicas are terribly uncommon, with simply over 600 editions hitting showrooms. Of that 600ish, Hurst/Olds made 130 ragtops, 279 hardtops, and 220 coupes outfitted with a elaborate electrical sunroof. (Hurst/Olds additionally specifically prepped a handful of Indy 500 wagons too!)
Suffice it to say, discovering a single 1972 Hurst/Olds Indianapolis 500 Tempo Automobile is sort of a feat.
So once we got here throughout not one, however two—a coupe AND convertible—1972 Hurst/Olds Indy 500 Tempo Automobile replicas at a Cincinnati Cavalcade of Customs present, our heads dang-near exploded.
And the tempo automobile editions had been greater than sticker-and-stripe packages too.
Each 1972 Hurst/Olds Indy 500 Tempo Automobile Duplicate got here in the identical white/gold livery, they usually all acquired the particular Ram Air hood plucked from the Oldsmobile W-25 package deal. All of the automobiles had been additionally fitted with gold-painted Olds Tremendous Inventory III wheels (with Hurst “Wheel-Guard” safety) wrapped in Goodyear Polysteel tires.
There was an obtainable onboard car safety system too.
So far as efficiency, the automobiles got here in two fundamental flavors.
Consumers may go for the W-45 Hurst/Olds package deal that got here with the Oldsmobile 455ci L75 engine good for 250 horsepower, or you would step as much as the W-30 package and its L77 455 powerplant making 300 hp.
Both engine was mated solely to a GM TH400 automated—with a Hurst Twin Gate shifter, in fact.
And 1972 didn’t mark the top for Hurst or Oldsmobile at Indianapolis, both. Hurst/Olds got here again in 1974 with one other particular version Indy 500 Tempo Automobile. Then in 1978 Oldsmobile itself formally reentered the Indy 500 tempo automobile scene with a Delta 88.
With a mixture of Cutlasses, Auroras—and even (gasp!) a Bravada—Oldsmobile would go on to deal with tempo automobile duties six extra instances earlier than the marque was shuttered by GM in 2004.
When you’re into tempo automobile replicas, it’s possible you’ll get pleasure from this text too: The 1979 Ford Mustang Indy 500 Tempo Automobile Heralded the Arrival of the Legendary Foxbody
