1954 Oldsmobile F-88 Concept
Written by Bill Bowman
The XP-20 project, known as F-88 was a pet project of Harley Earl. Bill Mitchell, Ken Pickering and Zora Arkus-Duntov were a few of the engineers involved in this project. Designed during 1952-53, around the same time as the first Motorama Corvette, the preliminary sketches of the F-88 came from designer Bill Lange. The final design was done in the main Oldsmobile studio under the direction of Art Ross.
Unveiled at the General Motors 1954 Motorama at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York the F-88 was painted metallic gold with metallic green inside the fender wells. Its fiberglass body sat on an early Chevrolet Corvette chassis with a 102-inch wheelbase. The F-88 was powered with a hopped up 324 C.I.D. V8 from a 1954 Oldsmobile Super 88 that produced a reported 250 horsepower. A 4-speed Hydra-Matic transmission was used with a 3.55:1 Corvette rear axle.
The upholstery and steering wheel were finished in pigskin. Two 88s in six-inch numerals were located on the front fenders ahead of the doors. Seven vertical bumper guards were part of the rear bumper. This bumper unit dropped down to reveal a horizontal compartment for the spare tire.
Unfortunately Chevrolet, which produced more GM products than any of its other divisions, convinced the GM board of directors to cut the Oldsmobile project so the F-88 never went into production.
There are many stories and theories on how many F-88s were built and what became of them, but only one survives today and was auctioned at the 2005 Barrett Jackson Classic Car Auction in Scottsdale, Arizona for three million, two hundred, and forty thousand dollars.
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