The 1941 Ninety-Eight four-door convertible is a true one-year wonder — only 119 were sold, and Oldsmobile never offered that body style on the 98 again.
Median 85 hp across 47 similar cars
Lead trim: 98 Custom Cruiser 257 cu in I8
Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight1941–1941
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Nobody in Burbles has spotted a Oldsmobile Ninety-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 1941 Ninety-Eight four-door convertible is a true one-year wonder — only 119 were sold, and Oldsmobile never offered that body style on the 98 again.
The Oldsmobile 98 (Ninety-Eight from 1952 to 1991) was the full-size flagship of Oldsmobile, produced from 1940 to 1942 and 1946 to 1996; the name, referring to a Series 90 fitted with an eight-cylinder engine, first appeared in 1941. The Series 90 Custom Cruiser used the new C-body of 1940 shared with the Cadillac Series 62, Buick Roadmaster and Super and the Pontiac Torpedo, with "torpedo" styling (designer Harley Earl). In 1941 the wheelbase was increased to 125 in and both engines were offered, so the second digit denoted the cylinder count: the 98 with the 257 cu in (4.2 L) straight-eight and the 96 with the 215 cu in (3.5 L) six (the only year in Oldsmobile history a 96 was available). The 98 came in a convertible coupe, a club coupe fastback, a 4-door sedan and a 4-door convertible (only 119 sold and the only time this body style was ever offered on the 98); 24,726 98s and 6,677 96s were sold in 1941, and the Hydramatic automatic was a popular option.
Collectors Spotted in the Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight Lineage
No member has published a public street spot of the Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight yet — the First · Worldwide stamp is wide open.
Trims & Figures
2 published trims in the catalogue. A blank is a figure not recorded, not zero.
| Trim | Years | Engine | Power | Torque | 0–60 | Drive | Gearbox | MSRP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 96 Custom Cruiser 215 cu in straight-six | 1941–1941 | 3.5 L Inline-6 | — | — | — | RWD | — | — |
| 98 Custom Cruiser 257 cu in I8 | 1941–1941 | 4.2 L Inline-8 | 110 hp | — | — | 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
This final Ninety Eight arrived on the nameplate's 50th birthday, and Oldsmobile marked it with a gold-striped anniversary package — cloisonné fender emblems, gold alloy wheels, even gold-flecked burled walnut trim.
Its Touring Sedan, aimed at Audi and BMW buyers, was finished by ASC of Michigan and cost about 30% more than any other Ninety-Eight.
For a few months in 1984, Oldsmobile sold two completely different Ninety-Eights side by side: the outgoing rear-drive car kept rolling off the line even as the all-new front-wheel-drive 1985 model reached showrooms.
For 1981 this Ninety-Eight switched to a V6 — but Oldsmobile kept the "98" badge anyway, breaking its own decades-old rule that the second digit meant cylinder count.
This Ninety-Eight could be ordered with an airbag in 1974 — two decades before they became mandatory. At $700 and facing public doubt about an unproven system, almost nobody actually checked the box.
Starting with this generation in 1965, Oldsmobile let coachbuilder Cotner-Bevington turn the big Ninety-Eight chassis into ambulances and hearses.
Oldsmobile cheaped out on this Ninety-Eight's transmission, swapping a smooth four-speed for a rough three-speed unit — and so many owners complained that dealers started quietly retrofitting the old gearbox back in.
While Chevrolet and Cadillac switched to GM's new X-frame for 1959, Oldsmobile quietly stuck with the older, stronger full perimeter frame for the Ninety-Eight.
For one year only, Oldsmobile's flagship Ninety-Eight dropped its own name — in 1957 it was sold simply as the Starfire 98, a naming quirk Oldsmobile never repeated.
A modified 1954 Ninety-Eight Holiday Coupe worked as a press car at the last-ever Carrera Panamericana, the legendary Mexican road race that was cancelled after that year.
For one single year, the 98 came as a 4-door fastback called the Town Sedan — it sold just 1,778 copies before Oldsmobile dropped the body style for good.
Only 6,659 of these Custom Cruiser 98s were built before World War II shut down production - but when Oldsmobile resumed, demand exploded to a record 37,140 sold in 1947 alone.
The 1941 Ninety-Eight four-door convertible is a true one-year wonder — only 119 were sold, and Oldsmobile never offered that body style on the 98 again.
Rivals
Same body, same money, other badges — tap any card to flip.
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