What Does ’88’ Mean On The Oldsmobile 88?

The “88” on the Oldsmobile 88 was the name given to the car when it was launched in 1949. Positioned in the lineup between Oldsmobile’s base model 76 and its largest vehicle, the 98, the car followed Olds’ pre-existing numbering system. The first digit of the car’s number signified the body size and the second digit was the number of cylinders in its engine. The Oldsmobile 88 was an intermediate-sized vehicle and carried the brand’s new overhead-valve V8. 

The Oldsmobile 88’s 303-cubic inch engine had an output of 135 hp in a body smaller than the Oldsmobile 98, giving it the best power-to-weight ratio of all Oldsmobiles — some car experts consider it one of the first muscle cars ever made. That performance propelled some of the car’s early versions to many NASCAR victories in its Strictly Stock Division (now called the Cup Series). Oldsmobile 88s claimed series championships for its drivers from 1949 through 1951, with Olds winning the manufacturer’s championships in 1950 and 1951. 

In addition to its many NASCAR wins, the Oldsmobile 88 also came in first in the inaugural 1950 running of the grueling Mexican road race, the Carrera Panamericana. This five-day race took place on over 2,000 miles of winding public roads running from Texas’ border all the way to Mexico’s southern border with Guatemala on the recently completed Mexican section of the Pan-American Highway. An Oldsmobile 88, piloted by Herschel McGriff, took the win.

The Oldsmobile 88 continued in the Oldsmobile lineup through 10 generations, from 1949 until 1999, five years before Oldsmobile itself went out of business. Over those years, many 88 models were worth noting.

The 1957 Oldsmobile Super 88 Holiday Sedan, shown above, offered a J-2 option, which added triple-carburetor induction to the 88’s already powerful output, upgrading its V8 from 271 to 300 hp. Its Rocket V8 engine was a classic muscle car engine that made tons of torque, and would propel the car from 0-60 mph in less than 8 seconds — very fast for its time. The 1957 Oldsmobile Super 88 Holiday Sedan cost $3,649 when new.

Flashing forward to 1999, the final edition of the 88 was called the Eighty-Eight, and it ended up as a full-size, four-door family car, taking the space of the Oldsmobile 98 after the larger sibling’s 1996 discontinuation. The Eighty-Eight’s original platform dated back to 1992 and its exterior had last been refreshed in 1996, while it received an interior update in 1997. Contemporary reviews indicated that, while well-equipped and a good value, the design of the Eighty-Eight felt dated. Customers would have seemingly been better served by waiting for its replacement, the 2000 Oldsmobile Aurora, which shared an engine with one of the greatest non-Ford cars that Shelby ever built, the 1999 Shelby Series 1.