There was a time that General Motors was trying to make Oldsmobile a more exciting brand, and decided the best way to do that was to take its new Aurora racing in IMSA’s GTS-1 category. The car won on its debut at the 1996 Daytona 24, cementing Oldsmobile in the annals of motorsport history and kicking off a brand revitalization campaign that made it the massive international success it is today. Wait, which part of the multiverse am I in today? Right, the one where Oldsmobile died in 2004. Anyway, here’s your chance to buy a car that most sports car enthusiasts have forgotten all about.
This car, built by Rocketsports in 1995 for the 1996 season, was campaigned originally by Brix Racing, where it went to the winner’s circle with Rob Morgan, Charles Morgan, Joe Pezza, Jon Gooding, and Irv Hoerr sharing the driving duties. The group finished seventh overall behind a quartet of prototypes and two smaller-displacement Porsche 911 RSRs. The Brix Oldsmobile was up two laps on a privateer Ford Mustang effort, the second-placed car in the GTS-1 class. The sister Oldsmobile did not finish the race thanks to a mid-race fire. This was probably Oldsmobile’s greatest success in the sports car arena, or maybe anywhere. Olds didn’t do much racing, though it found a modicum of success in NASCAR, as an Indycar engine supplier, and SCCA Trans Am.
This car is currently on eBay with a buy-it-now price of just $775,000. That may seem absurd at first glance, but this is a turn-key operation including a spare chassis, lots of spare parts, and a stacker trailer with a toterhome. Considering the car has four wins at the Classic 24 Hours of Daytona, this is probably a winning combo right out of the gate, just like it was in 1996. You could go to damn near any vintage racing event in the world, and this car would turn heads and turn fast lap times. There are so many worse ways to spend three quarters of a million dollars. Have at it.
