The Oldsmobile Starfire is a 2-door convertible from Oldsmobile, built from 1960 to 1980, in the decade that gave the world the pony car and the mid-engined supercar. Under the bonnet: 303.7 cuin Rocket V8. Harley Earl drew it.
Where it came from
The Oldsmobile Starfire is an automobile nameplate used by Oldsmobile, produced in three non-contiguous generations beginning in 1954. The Starfire nameplate made its debut as a convertible concept car in 1953 followed with the 1954–1956 Ninety-Eight series convertibles that shared a "halo status" with the Buick Skylark and Cadillac Eldorado. For 1957 only, all Ninety-Eight series models were named "98 Starfire". Oldsmobile during this time period was one of the most popular brands selling, and the company saw an opportunity to benefit from the Space Race of the 1960s. The "rocket" terminology was already a benefit with their Rocket V8. After a two-year hiatus the Starfire name returned for 1961 as a separate model, offered in a single convertible body style.
Intended to compete in the growing personal luxury car market, from 1961 to 1965 the Starfire Convertible was the highest-priced model offered by Oldsmobile. While it shared most of its sheet metal with other full-sized Oldsmobile models, the Starfire wore unique trim and luxurious interiors. The Starfire Coupe hardtop joined the convertible for the 1962 model year. For the final 1966 model year, the convertible was dropped. The Starfire nameplate returned for the 1975 model year as Oldsmobile's first subcompact, powered by a Buick V6 engine. The 1977 Starfire featured a four-cylinder engine as standard equipment, for the first time since the 1922 Model 43. Production ceased in 1980.
Under the skin
Power comes from 303.7 cuin Rocket V8. It weighs 4453 lb. It shifts through a 4-speed Hydramatic automatic. The layout matters: a front engine drives the rear wheels, the classic proportion — long bonnet, cabin set back — that most people picture when they picture a sports saloon or a grand tourer. The wheelbase is 124.0 in. These are manufacturer figures carried by Wikipedia and Wikidata, not road-test measurements.
In context
Its family tree is legible: assembly was at Lansing, Michigan. Its contemporaries in the catalogue — the Nissan Patrol, the Volvo P1800, the Jaguar E-Type — show what else the money bought that year. Nearby in the Oldsmobile catalogue sit the Oldsmobile 442 and the Oldsmobile 88.
What it costs now
MotorJury scores cars on the United States complaint and recall record, and the Oldsmobile Starfire has none: too old, too rare, or never sold there. Its value today is a collector's question, decided by provenance and condition rather than by a class average.