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.
Median 94 hp across 363 similar cars
Lead trim: Delta 88 231 cu in Buick V6 (standard from 1977) · up to 185 hp
Oldsmobile Eighty-Eight1977–1985
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Nobody in Burbles has spotted a Oldsmobile Eighty-Eight yet. See one on the street, point the app at it, and the first card is yours — with your @handle permanently credited on this page.
FactThe 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.
The 1977 Delta 88s and other GM B-body cars were considerably downsized in length and wheelbase (116 in, the same as the four-door 1973–77 A-body Cutlass Sedan) and nearly 900 lb lighter, with curb weights of between 3,500 and 3,600 lb depending on model; interior room was not adversely affected except for shoulder room. Both base Delta 88 and Royale models were offered only as a two-door coupe and four-door Town Sedan, and the 1977–1979 Custom Cruiser wagon was now based on the Delta 88's B-body with a two-way tailgate. The standard engine was now the Buick 231 cu in (3.8 L) V6 with a Turbo-Hydramatic 200, an Oldsmobile 260 was the base V8, followed by a Chevrolet 350 or Oldsmobile 350, and the new 403 was the top option (discontinued by 1980), the mixed engine sourcing causing the "Chevy-mobile" affair. For 1980 all 88s got new more aerodynamic sheet metal and a 307 cu in Rocket V8 with a four-barrel carburetor and 150 horsepower joined the lineup; length 217.5 in (1977–79) and 218.1 in (1980–85), width 76.8 in, height 55.0 in (coupe) or 55.7 in (sedan).
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
3 published trims in the catalogue. A blank is a figure not recorded, not zero.
| Trim | Years | Engine | Power | Torque | 0–60 | Drive | Gearbox | MSRP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Delta 88 231 cu in Buick V6 (standard from 1977) | 1977–1985 | 3.8 L V6 | 105 hp | 185 lb-ft | — | RWD | — | — |
| Delta 88 307 cu in Rocket V8 4-barrel (150 hp, 1980) | 1980–1980 | 5.0 L V8 | 150 hp | — | — | RWD | — | — |
| Delta 88 403 cu in Oldsmobile V8 (top option, 1977–1979) | 1977–1979 | 6.6 L V8 | 185 hp | 320 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.