The ’72 OLDS W30 4-4-2 & W-45 HURST/OLDS were the last of the great ones from Lansing!
Like the GTO and LeMans, Oldsmobile’s venerable 4-4-2 was reduced to an option available on various Cutlass models. To get maximum 4-4-2 power and image, you had to opt for the W29 Sport/Handling 4-4-2 and the W30 Performance Packages. When you selected the W30, it included the L77 Force-Air 455 rated at 300 horsepower at 4,700 rpm and 410 pound-feet of torque at 3,200 rpm. The best part of the W29 option was Oldsmobile’s excellent FE2 Suspension with HD everything, plus front and rear sway bars. You could order a W25 functionally-scooped fiberglass hood, regardless of engine choice.
Oldsmobile engineer, Dale Smith, supplied the W30 test car with four-speed and 3.91 gears that we featured in PERFORMANCE CARS ’72. While that car ran 100 mph in 14.30 seconds, production models we drove with similar gearing during the year were off by 2-3 mph and a few tenths. He also loaned us a W30-powered Hurst/Olds Indy Pace Car for a road test in Hi-Performance CARS magazine. The ’72 OLDS W30 4-4-2 & W-45 HURST/OLDS Pace Car carried Oldsmobile’s performance cred over for one more year!
The ‘72 Hurst/Olds was developed by Hurst Performance, and not Oldsmobile. It had some of the lowest production numbers of any produced, with a total of 629 hardtops and 130 convertibles. Of the hardtops, 220 were produced with a sunroof, below. All ’72 Hurst/ Olds had a W-45 Code on the cowl tags.
Hurst Performance volunteered to sponsor and pace the 1972 Indy 500, and it was the only time a Pace Car was supplied from other than a major automobile manufacturer. For Indy, an additional six station wagons were constructed for press and ambulance use, though not considered true Hurst Oldsmobiles, and 279 of the hardtop cars were made available and later sold. All cars were Cameo White with reflective gold stripes that were stick-on decals, not paint. All cars had the W-25 Ram Air Hood and gold SS III Rally Wheels with a chrome bolt-on center cap and chrome beauty ring. The tires were unique to the car: Goodyear Polysteel Radials.
The base Hurst/Olds engine was the L75 455-inch V-8 rated at 250 SAE net horsepower. Optional at extra cost was the W-30 option with the L77 455, above, and typical of Oldsmobile at the time, it was a massaged special-build engine rated at 300 SAE net horsepower. Engines were mated to Turbo Hydra-Matic 400 transmissions with console-mounted Hurst Dual-Gate shifters. (There were no manual transmission cars.) All Hurst/Olds were fitted with black Strato-Bucket seat interiors with center consoles and Dual-Gate Shifters, as well as “Digital Performance Computers”.
Check out OVER-DRIVE magazine for complete coverage of all of Oldsmobile’s mid-size models, including: ’72 OLDS W30 4-4-2 & W-45 HURST/OLDS @ https://over-drive-magazine.com/2025/03/21/1972-oldsmobile-mid-size-cars-fact-sheet/