Olds remade its image once again in 1961 shifting from performance to premium-car luxury. With that, its big cars looked crisper, more mature and made better use of space. Surprisingly, the new cars were actually one to five inches shorter overall on fractionally smaller wheelbases. The physically shorter size, combined with the light and airy styling, made the cars actually look sportier than previous Oldsmobiles. To give its lineup an added boost as well as some ammo against the popular Ford Thunderbird, Oldsmobile introduced the Starfire as a separate model series in January 1961. The Starfire was a sports variant at the top-of-the-line Olds 98 series from 1954 through 1957. It then reappeared in 1961 as a limited production convertible, and then for only three years thereafter in both coupe and convertible form.

It shared the 123-inch wheelbase of the Super 88 Series and the grille of the 98, but it was powered by a special 394-cid, 330-hp V-8 engine exclusive to the Starfire, making it arguably the first Oldsmobile musclecar. The car was aimed at the well-heeled adult and virtually every Oldsmobile option was included as standard equipment. At $4,647 it was the year’s most expensive Olds and just 7,800 were produced; all convertibles.

As the flagship of the Oldsmobile line, the Starfire featured every available option as standard equipment. This includes power bucket seat upholstered in leather, console, console-mounted tachometer, Hydra-Matic transmission, limited-slip differential; power windows, brakes, steering, antenna and trunk release. Unique to the Starfire are the brushed aluminum side panels, chrome-plated valve covers, oil filler cap and air cleaner.

The interior is quite captivating with its four leather bucket seats and the special console. It has an extraordinary rocket ship-inspired interior design and is laden with trim elements unique to the 1961 model year. This striking “Ferrari red” example has been restored and also displays red leather interior and is certainly going to gather attention for all of the right reasons. The car is stated to have been driven "zero miles" since the restoration project was completed. There are many details to examine on this distinctive platform; in period it was regarded by many as an example of modern automotive artwork.