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. 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. At $4,647 it was the year’s most expensive Olds and just 7,800 were produced; all convertibles. Starfires included unique brushed-aluminum side trim as well as leather bucket seats, console, tachometer, power seats and special mufflers with dual exhausts.

This striking Turquoise Mist example with matching turquoise leather interior and contrasting white convertible top is certainly an attention-getter! Equipped with the aforementioned engine and Hydra-Matic automatic transmission, it is equipped with the standard power steering and brakes as well as power top, power windows and vent windows, power driver’s bucket seat, remote trunk release, clock, Autronic Eye, Safety Sentinel, two-speed windshield wipers, and Wonderbar AM Radio with Bi-Phonic speaker system. The matching turquoise top boot features the same ribbed pattern seen in the seats, for that extra detail.