Rare Rides: The 1991 Oldsmobile Cutlass Calais Quad 442 W41

The Rare Rides series has visited a performance 442 Oldsmobile previously, when we took a look at a one-off Hurst Intrigue 442 (which most everyone hated). Today we’ll see the very last time 442 appeared on a factory Oldsmobile.

It’s a Cutlass Calais Quad 442 W41, from 1991.

The Calais nameplate was a short-lived one. It started its life in the early Eighties, and barely made it into the Nineties before it was dropped. Available with two- or four-doors, the Calais was an N-body relative of the Buick Skylark, Somerset, and the Pontiac Grand Am. At debut for the 1985 model year it was simply called Calais, and filled in as replacement for the wretched and un-missed Omega X-body compact. Circa 1987 Calais married into the Cutlass family, as someone at Oldsmobile decided 90 percent of Oldsmobile offerings needed a Cutlass badge.

Calais used a total of four different engines. Inline-four offerings included the 2.5-liter Iron Duke and 2.3 Quad 4, and six cylinder power was via 3.0- or 3.3-liter mills. Sporting drivers could select a five-speed manual, and for everyone else a three-speed automatic filled the transmission tunnel.

The aforementioned Quad 4 was the performance choice for the Calais. That engine became available in 1987, on a new trim called GMO Quad 4. Oldsmobile quickly dropped the GMO name, and the Quad 4 eventually made its way into a new halo for the Calais line: the Quad 442. The 442 used a high-output version of the same engine for a total of 180 horsepower, and was paired only with the five-speed manual. An automatic version was available, but only on the luxury-oriented International Series trim.

In 1991, for the final year of Calais, Oldsmobile added a bit more trim complexity to its compact. The Quad 442 was now available with a W41 badge in its name. That meant under hood was the W41 version of the Quad 4, which made the most horsepower: 190.

But it was all very short-lived. In 1992 the Calais saw its replacement via the revised N-body Achieva SCX, covered by Rare Rides previously. But that version of the W41 had been through some exhaust port reductions, and sacrificed five horsepower in the name of NVH and emissions. Quad 442 W41 Calais was a peak moment.

Today’s Rare Ride is located in the scenic area of Buffalo, New York, which is near Canada. Appearing with 160,000 miles and in excellent condition, this 442 asks $4k.

[Images: seller]