General Motors took the hint when it delivered the 1965 Oldsmobile
Cutlass 4-4-2. Shuffling onto the burgeoning performance scene in
mid-1964 with a "police
package" that could be ordered on a four-door sedan was no recipe
for muscle car success. Indeed, fewer than 3,000 buyers bought the
original Oldsmobile Cutlass 4-4-2
Refining its strategy for '65, Oldsmobile made the 4-4-2 a $190 option
on the F-85 pillared coupe and a $156 extra on the Cutlass coupe,
two-door hardtop, and convertible. The 1965 Oldsmobile Cutlass 4-4-2
had arrived. Styling of these midsize models was updated, with the
4-4-2 distinguished by chrome bodyside tines.  ©2007 Publications International , Ltd. Overall balance was the 1965 Oldsmobile Cutlass 4-4-2's forte. "It's good and fast, and its handling and general road behavior are better than ninety percent of the cars bought by American car consumers," said Car and Driver. See more muscle car pictures. |
Marketing
was hipper, too. Instead of a couple of cops in a bland '64 sedan, the
Cutlass 4-4-2 advertising burst with references to cubic inches and
horsepower. Buzzwords like "kicks" and "cool" flew freely. One spot
showed nothing but blurred asphalt and the declaration, "Olds 4-4-2
was here!"
Also
for 1965, GM raised the displacement ceiling on intermediates to 400
cubic inches. Olds destroked and debored its new 425-cid big-car V-8
to create a hot 400-cid V-8 exclusively for the 1965 Oldsmobile
Cutlass 4-4-2. With this change, the name now meant 400 cubes,
four-barrel carburetor, and dual exhausts.
The 1965 Oldsmobile Cutlass 4-4-2's horsepower increased by 35, to 345, and torque
expanded by 85 lb-ft, to 440. Peak power now came at 4800 rpm, not
5200, and peak torque was on tap at just 3200 rpm, 400 rpm lower than
before.
 ©2007 Publications International , Ltd. With the introduction of a new and larger V-8 in 1965, 4-4-2 now stood for 400 cubic inches, four-barrel carb, and dual exhausts. |
Olds was able to use a mild cam
and relatively modest axle ratios to make the '65 Oldsmobile Cutlass
4-4-2 a mannered muscle car that still went quite well. Careful suspension
tuning and anti-roll bars front and rear again helped it handle
better than the other GM intermediates. Transmission choices were three-
and four-speed manuals and the two-speed Jetaway automatic.
Where the 1965 Oldsmobile Cutlass 4-4-2 stayed too conservative was
inside. Instrumentation was run-of-the-mill F-85 with a tachometer
mounted too low to be of much use. But its effortless performance
proved prophetic. "It oozes out 345 horsepower without trying,"
noticed Car Life in May 1965,
"hinting of things to come if this big engine/little car kick lasts."
And last it would. The Oldsmobile Cutlass 4-4-2 spawned even higher
performance in years to come.
 ©2007 Publications International , Ltd. The 1965 Oldsmobile Cutlass 4-4-2 benefited from better marketing. |
Wheelbase, inches: 115.0
Weight, lbs: 3,890
Number built: NA
Base price: $3,370
Standard Engine
Type: ohv V-8
Displacement, cid: 400
Fuel system: 1 x 4 bbl.
Compression ratio: 10.25:1
Horsepower @ rpm: 345 @ 4800
Torque @ rpm: 440 @ 3200
Representative Performance
0-60 mph, sec: 5.5
1/4 mile, sec @ mph: 15.0 @ 98
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