#hydramatic

1954 Oldsmobile F-88 Concept

The 1954 Oldsmobile F-88 concept car, and the only remaining example of this iconic GM Motorama creation. Supplied directly from GM as a knocked-down “kit” to legendary automaker E.L. Cord.

Known internally as project XP-20, the Oldsmobile concept was designed in the spirit of Chevrolet’s 1953 Corvette: a two-seat sports car with a 102-inch wheelbase and fiberglass body.

But its details define the Oldsmobile F-88 concept as something far more visionary, offering a glimpse of the future in the shape of its fenders, tail fins, exhaust outlets, and use of chrome. And GM spared no expense, with custom trim and hardware like front fender vents cleverly disguised behind cast “F88” emblems.

Its interior was upholstered in pearlescent-finished pigskin, a material impossible to offer with production-line models. Unlike most concept cars, the F-88 was not a pushmobile, but powered by Oldsmobile’s 150 hp, 324 cubic-inch V-8 engine, mated to GM’s Hydramatic transmission.

Starring: ‘41 Oldsmobile Hydramatic Coupe

GM had been producing a teeny-tiny-shrimpy-wimpy version of the 3-speed Hydramatic automatic transmission for decades prior to the 4L30E. They licensed it to all of those effete European automakers who had no interest, budget, or ability to construct an automatic transmission, yet desperately needed one in order in order to sell the car to Americans (a culture so clutch-averse that they won’t even buy bicycles.) Fiat, Opel, and Peugeot, among others, crammed the primitive little slushbox into their cars, but they soon found that they needed more. More what? Efficiency, for one thing, and maybe another gear would be nice.

When the new one came out, there was celebration, albeit only in the transmission-industry magazines (yes, those actually exist.) Now, all those Europeans and Japanese could simply grab a high-technology box off the shelf from an American manufacturer that wasn’t Chrysler. The new 4L30E got slammed into BMWs, Isuzus and the weird cross-brand ultramutant that was the Catera. It was met with no notice whatsoever. And that’s pretty good for an automatic: even though today’s 8-, 10- and thirty-five-speed automatics are a big part of the hype of new “sports” cars, back then it was a triumph just to have an automatic that didn’t shit its own torque converter out and/or forget how many gears it had.