Oldsmobile F-85 History

The F-85 launched for 1961 as Oldsmobile's senior-compact, initially a unibody car notable for an aluminum V8 (and, in the Jetfire, an early turbocharged engine). It grew into a body-on-frame intermediate on GM's A-body platform for 1964.

Its lasting importance is as the parent of two icons: the Cutlass began as the F-85's top trim, and the 442 debuted in 1964 as an F-85/Cutlass option. The F-85 name was phased out after 1972 as the Cutlass took over the whole line.