Car Stuff: Car Show Outtake

When I posted pictures from the car show I attended back in July, I covered every car i had photographed except one. I came across it while looking for something else in iPhoto. I'm not sure why I didn't include it; maybe I thought I had featured enough cars in the two posts. Regardless, I had this one left over and decided to feature it today.

This is a 1974 Oldsmobile Cutlass coupe with the 4-4-2 package, customized by Hurst. At the height of the muscle-car era in the late 1960s the 4-4-2 was a separate model in the Cutlass lineup, as its cousin the GTO was the high-performance version of the Pontiac LeMans. The 4-4-2 was sometimes referred to as a "gentleman's hot rod" because Oldsmobiles were considered more refined than Pontiacs (and cost more).

By the early 1970s the muscle car was all but dead due to emissions requirements and insurance concerns. Big engines were still available, but they made far less horsepower than their predecessors, and cars like the 4-4-2 were relegated to option packages, more about show than go.

Hurst Performance was a Pennsylvania company that supplied parts to auto manufacturers and offered its own performance upgrades. They were involved in the production of performance versions of cars for several auto brands. The Hurst/Olds first appeared in 1968; for 1974, 1800 were built, making this a pretty rare car even when new. The gold striping and wheels were the most distinctive parts of the package, along with the black roof band and hood louvers. (A modified version of this car, with the roof removed in front of and behind that band, was the pace car for the 1974 Indianapolis 500 race.)