This is the car that in 1954 could have "killed" the Corvette... so, Chevrolet, being GMs big sales and profit Division, campaigned to GM to "kill" this car. When Chevy was coming out with its 6-cyl. sports car with its 2-speed "Powerglide" transmission and side curtains here was a sports car from Olds with a big old V-8 and power windows. So, GM said no to Oldsmobile on building this car. The world's rarest automobile. A 1954 concept Oldmobile Rocket F88 - the only one in existence. (Read the story below.) John S. Hendricks, (Discovery Communications founder) paid in excess of 3 million to acquire it. 1954 Oldsmobile F-88 convertible concept car....after spending decades as a collection of parts stuffed into wooden crates the F-88 was reassembled. In 1954 the F-88 was a Motorama "Dream Car" and was one of only two or an unconfirmed possible three ever created. The F-88 seen here is literally the only car left of its kind and was sold to John and Maureen Hendricks at the prestigious Barrett-Jackson Auto Auction in Scottsdale, Arizona for an unbelievable $3,240,000. This acquisition made automotive history and is the "cornerstone" of the Gateway Colorado Automobile Museum in its own special room in a rotating display worthy of the F-88!
Funny how Chevrolet always managed to put in a "good word" to kill competing cars. Seems it was done later with the Pontiac Banshee too. I've seen one of the two, in person, and that was a cool car too. Anything like that is way outta my price range! :shock:
Hood looks like T bird that went into production They say a pic is worth a 1000 words but $3. 2 something millon wow.
I saw that one go across the block at BJ. It was a sale that was predetermined as the buyer was sent by the now new owner with the orders to buy me that car at whatever the price. An similar interesting Buick was sold by BJ at a very nice price also or maybe it was a Pontiac well someone can pull it up If I remember it toured with this car and was blue I also remember Harley Earls personal Buick selling there as well with a matching childs car
While I think the rivalry and competition between divisions is a very good thing, it's too bad that Mother GM picked a winner some times. Another example is the no tri-carb edict which killed Olds' tri-carb option on the 442 after a one year appearance in 1966. Pontiac suffered the same fate, right? One example of when Mother GM went hands-off and let the market decide was in 1949 when both Olds and Cadillac came out with the market's first high-compression, overhead-valve V8. They were each developed independently, using principles researched by Kettering. Cadillac tried to kill the Olds Rocket, claiming that only GM's premier marque should be allowed to field such a great new engine. Fortunately, GM didn't kill the Rocket, and the rest is history. Of course, never one to miss an opportunity to make really bad decisions, GM did kill the Rocket (and rear-wheel drive) in the late '80s, thus killing one of the best-selling cars (Cutlass) in America and, in turn, one of their most successful divisions.
What if? ; http://www.khulsey.com/stockphotography/stk_buick-wildcat-II-concept-car.html http://www.v8buick.com/showthread.php?t=221146&highlight=1954+Wildcat+II
Maybe it's just me, but that Wildcat reminds me of Dolly Parton...much better than the catfish look of the F-88.
All the divisions had 2-seat concept/dream cars in 1954. The Olds just happened to be Harley Earl's favorite. They were really designed to boost interest in GM two-seat sports cars. Of course, the only 2-seat GM sports car the public could buy at the time was the Corvette. 1954 Pontiac Bonneville 1954 Buick Wildcat 1954 Cadillac El Camino 1954 Olds F-88 No one "killed" the Olds F-88, they were just GM Motorama Dream Cars, not intended for production. None of the 1954 Dream Cars are particularly attractive in my opinion. The Olds F-88 that sold at Barrett-Jackson a few years is notable as one of the the most overpriced cars ever sold at auction. That car today is probably worth around $500K. Just great timing by the seller, horrible timing by the buyer. The Pontiac Banshee was several years later (1964), and aside from the actual body shell, the rest of the car was built using off-the-shelf parts. It was a valid production proposal by John DeLorean, and designed as a low-priced 2-seat sports car.
