Oldsmobile named this car after a Cold War fighter jet: having already borrowed the Starfire name from an Air Force plane, it named the Delta 88 after the Convair F-102 Delta Dagger interceptor.
Median 99 hp across 304 similar cars
Lead trim: Delta 88 350 cu in Rocket V8 (250 hp at 4600 rpm, 9.0:1, 1969) · up to 390 hp
Oldsmobile Eighty-Eight1965–1970
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FactOldsmobile named this car after a Cold War fighter jet: having already borrowed the Starfire name from an Air Force plane, it named the Delta 88 after the Convair F-102 Delta Dagger interceptor.
The sixth-generation 88 (1965–1970) carried the Dynamic 88, Jetstar 88 (dropped after 1967), Delta 88 (the name began in 1965 as an upscale trim on the Dynamic 88 and became a separate series within weeks, named after the Convair F-102 Delta Dagger), Delmont 88 (1967–68 only, replacing the Jetstar 88 and Dynamic 88) and, from 1967, the Delta 88 Custom; all rode a 123 in wheelbase (124 in in 1969–70). All 1965 models got new Coke-bottle styling and engineering, a new 425 cubic-inch Super Rocket V8 (300 to 370 hp depending on carburetion and compression) and the new three-speed Turbo Hydramatic; a four-speed manual joined the option list, a Delta 88 convertible was added in 1966, and the Delmont 88 had the 330 V8 standard and the 425 optional in 1967 and the new stroked Rocket 455 in 1968. For 1968 the Delmont's 350 came as a 250 hp two-barrel or 310 hp four-barrel, the 455 two-barrel at 310 hp was standard on the Delta 88/Custom, a four-barrel 455 rated 365 hp was optional on all 88s and a 390 hp W-33 option was primarily designed for the police package. The base Delta 88 for 1969 had a 350 cu in low-compression (9.0:1) Rocket V8 rated at 250 hp at 4,600 rpm and 355 lb-ft that ran on leaded regular fuel.
Collectors Spotted in the Oldsmobile Eighty-Eight Lineage
No member has published a public street spot of the Oldsmobile Eighty-Eight yet — the First · Worldwide stamp is wide open.
Trims & Figures
6 published trims in the catalogue. A blank is a figure not recorded, not zero.
| Trim | Years | Engine | Power | Torque | 0–60 | Drive | Gearbox | MSRP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 88 455 cu in Rocket V8 4-barrel (365 hp, 1968) | 1968–1968 | 7.5 L V8 | 365 hp | 500 lb-ft | — | RWD | — | — |
| 88 W-33 455 cu in Rocket V8 (390 hp, 1968 police option) | 1968–1968 | 7.5 L V8 | 390 hp | 500 lb-ft | — | RWD | — | — |
| Delmont 88 350 cu in Rocket V8 2-barrel (250 hp, 1968) | 1968–1968 | 5.7 L V8 | 250 hp | 355 lb-ft | — | RWD | — | — |
| Delmont 88 350 cu in Rocket V8 4-barrel (310 hp, 1968) | 1968–1968 | 5.7 L V8 | 310 hp | 390 lb-ft | — | RWD | — | — |
| Delta 88 350 cu in Rocket V8 (250 hp at 4600 rpm, 9.0:1, 1969) | 1969–1969 | 5.7 L V8 | 250 hp | 355 lb-ft | — | RWD | — | — |
| Delta 88 455 cu in Rocket V8 2-barrel (310 hp, 1968) | 1968–1968 | 7.5 L V8 | 310 hp | 490 lb-ft | — | RWD | — | — |
Owning one
We don’t estimate running costs for a car like this. What it costs depends on its condition, its specialist and how it is driven, and an average would mislead.
Owners’ builds
Nobody has claimed one yet.
Photographs
Its Regency version had a self-dimming driver's door mirror as standard, something even Cadillac did not fit as standard.
This Eighty Eight could talk: an optional computer-synthesized male voice warned you out loud if the coolant was low, the engine overheated, or you'd left the headlights on.
In 1988 it became the first GM car offered with a driver's-side airbag, twelve years after GM had dropped its earlier ACRS airbag system.
The 1977 downsizing hit hard — this full-size Delta 88 ended up riding on the exact same 116-inch wheelbase as the mid-size Cutlass sedan, and nearly 900 lb lighter than the model it replaced.
In 1974 you could special-order a Delta 88 with driver and passenger airbags — a rarely-picked factory option that made it one of the first production cars ever offered with them.
Oldsmobile named this car after a Cold War fighter jet: having already borrowed the Starfire name from an Air Force plane, it named the Delta 88 after the Convair F-102 Delta Dagger interceptor.
Early-60s 88s read speed off a 'speed bar' — a rolling cylinder painted green, yellow and red that scrolled past a window as the car sped up.
This 88 had a speedometer that color-coded your speed for you — green under 35, amber up to 65, red beyond that, decades before dashboards did this digitally.
A Ford stylist bought a chrome-heavy 1958 Olds as a daily driver, then rearranged its hood lettering to spell "SLOBMODEL" as a jab at the era's design excess.
The 1956 Olds 88 quietly killed a chore drivers had lived with for 16 years: its new Jetaway Hydra-Matic was the first Oldsmobile automatic that never needed the periodic band adjustment its predecessors required.
A fire at GM's own Hydra-Matic plant forced some 1953 Oldsmobiles to ship with a Buick transmission instead.
Rivals
Same body, same money, other badges — tap any card to flip.
It briefly served as senior sibling to Marquette, a GM companion brand cancelled after just one year.
Nissan hired former BMW engineers to help develop the 510's suspension, which is why period reviewers frequently compared its handling to the BMW 1600/2002.
A Trabant 601 won its class at the 1970 Monte Carlo Rally, with a second 601 right behind it in second.
The 600 was a stopgap: the P50's body over the 601's mechanicals, and for a while its estate was built alongside the new 601 saloon.
The G80 Sport brought a 370 PS twin-turbo 3.3 V6, a mesh grille and copper-tinted chrome with copper stitching to match.
The Vigor was sold only with a five-cylinder engine, an unusual configuration Honda used to fit a longer engine transversely under a short hood.
The GS/E coupe earned the nickname "German Charger" for its long hood, short deck stance borrowed from Detroit muscle cars.
This DeVille/Fleetwood was the first production car anywhere to mount its V8 sideways, Cadillac's front-drive gamble on the new C-body.