“The Story of the 1954 Oldsmobile F-88: An Automotive Mystery”
Indeed, Oldsmobile’s burgeoning sports car search company was untimely bankrupted by someone near and dear to the division—Chevrolet. The F-88, destined to shine in showrooms, posed a challenge to Chevy’s runaway Corvette. So Chevy scrapped the F-88, and it became a concept car on the 1954 General Motors Motorama show circuit—admired and loved by many, but driven by only a few.
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This is where the mystery comes in: after its withdrawal from Motorama, it is known that the F-88 was dismantled and credited and passed between various owners. No one knows when the car was reassembled and improved to become a collector’s item that was recorded by Ьгoke as the most valuable car ever at the Barrett-Jackson auction. And were there one, two or three Oldsmobile F-88s that were initially sought after?
Car historians also disagree on this. Others say the real mystery is why the Oldsmobile search never found its slain star. After all, few people look for Oldsmobiles to be as widely revered posthumously as the 1954 Oldsmobile F-88.
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The F-88 is one of Harvey Earl’s passion projects. (In fact, part of the mystery of the F-88 mᴜгdeг is the story that GM’s head of styling had a duplicate red F-88 built for him to drive to German races. his son. But some automotive historians have refuted this.) Oldsmobile wanted its own. sports car, so they organized an excellent design team to build the F-88. The car started in the hands of Bill Lange and ended with designer Art Ross with Jack Humbert in charge of the interior and Harvey Earl oⱱeгѕeeіпɡ the entire process, tweaking the design as it evolved.– 
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But instead of multiple showrooms, the F-88 made its first appearance—and only official public appearance—at the General Motors Motorama show, which began at the Waldorf-Astoria hotel in New York City on January 21, 1954. The six-car show was full of General Motors’ best along with the company’s “dream cars” like the sought-after 1954 Oldsmobile F-88 and even a full-scale musical performance.
On stage next to the sought-after Oldsmobile Cutlass fastback coupe, the F-88 was a sight to behold—the Cutlass couldn’t compare, it was clearly superior. Painted metallic gold, the F-88 — a golden goddess — seemed to sparkle under the show lights, with a hint of metallic blue glimmering on the inside of its fender wells.
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Sitting proudly on a Corvette chassis—with Chevrolet’s 102-inch wheelbase—the F-88 nods to the Chevy аѕѕаѕѕіп with its fiberglass body while still managing to retain its Oldsmobile character with its elliptical taillights and elliptical grille. Under the hood, the F-88 was powered by a 324 cubic-inch V-8—not from the 1954 Oldsmobile Super 88. With modifications, the 185 horsepower could be increased to 250 horsepower. The advertised output is 249 horsepower (though the car doesn’t get much of a chance to show that off).) The F-88 uses a 4-speed Hydra-Matic transmission. 
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More than 2 million people gasped and gawked at the show’s hit F-88, proving just how successful the car’s sales success would be with the overwhelming popular response. However, when Motorama concluded, the F-88 was placed in the sponsorship department along with the rest of the dream cars. And, while historians disagree on whether Harvey Earl actually had his own red search that Oldsmobile made in 1954, everyone agrees that Earl was especially fond of the F. -88. While many other concept cars were scrapped after Motorama, Earl saved the F-88, crated it and shipped it — but, to whom? Most people think it’s EL Cord, the big wig behind Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg but no one knows for sure. 
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Anyone who first bought (or was given?) a sought-after 1954 Oldsmobile F-88 certainly didn’t know the hidden gem they kept for years after the 1954 Motorama circuit, the F-88 remained intact when passed from one owner to another. It’s a truth that would surely make the car’s current owner, John S. Hendricks, shudder. The owner of Discovery Communications paid a whopping $3,240,000 for this car in 2005 – the highest price ever achieved by a car collector at the Barrett-Jackson auction. 
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But before reaching Hendricks, it is said that the car was mysteriously removed from the GM model, disassembled, and sent to business baron EL Cord, who then gave it—still in the crate—to Bil Barker, who passed it on to Jim Brucker. The original F-88 blueprints and paperwork show that, after the Brucker, the boxcar lived with Leo Gephart before ending up with Ed Lucas as the chassis with the fuselage placed on top and the rest of the the car was still in the trunk. But when Lon Krueger bought it a few years later, he said it was finished but still needed restoration, which he did—seven years later. Today, following John S. Hendricks’ history-making $3 million auction at Barrett-Jackson, the F-88 is on display at the Gateway Colorado Automobile Museum. However, the search for the mysterious Oldsmobile continues. The 12th owner of the F-88, Gordon Apker, said he had heard many stories about this vehicle. Some say the original F-88 broke down while the handler was loading it onto a trailer, and others say it was unsuitable for Harold N. Metzel’s driveway — search Oldsmobile chief engineer. He denies this. The other story – the one you heard here – is that the car was boxed up and sent to a millionaire. EL Cord, maybe? 
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The stories surrounding the 1954 Oldsmobile F-88 have made the car part of automotive folklore. This golden goddess is not just a “dream car”, she is also a living eɡend. And as for the Oldsmobile search—it’s learned its lesson. General Motors is no longer getting rid of its “dream cars.” They wander around, roam the warehouse and appear on special occasions. It seems that right now, the F-88 is the only automotive mystery that remains completely unsolved.
