Slotting right in the middle of Oldsmobile’s Cutlass sub-brand lineup, the midsize Cutlass Ciera was in production across a single generation from 1982 to 1996. Now, a well-preserved 1985 Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera Convertible Indy 500 Pace Car is now up for grabs.
Listed for sale by a dealership in Indianapolis for a cool $9,900, this Cutlass Ciera boasts less than 25,000 miles on the odometer, along with the Indy 500 pace car credentials. All things considered, this example certainly appears to be in great shape given its age.
Starting with the exterior, the Linen White paint job is complimented with a bevy of logos and badges that mark this Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera was an Indy 500 special. A white convertible top is stowed behind the passengers, and appears to have a rip just behind the driver. As for rollers, the previous owner upgraded the wheel and tire package to American Racing wheels wrapped in blackwall radial tires.
Moving onto the interior, a burgundy colorway contrasts nicely with the white exterior, while a radio and air conditioning system are positioned front-and-center.
It’s worth noting that the Cutlass Ciera was given a mid-cycle refresh for the 1985 model year, so this model features a redesigned grille, headlamps, taillights, and interior as compared to earlier units.
Under the hood lies an interesting powertrain for an Indy 500 pace car. The naturally aspirated 2.5L I4 gasoline engine – otherwise known as the Iron Duke – is mated to a three-speed automatic transmission, while pushing 92 horsepower and 135 pound-feet of torque to the front wheels. Notably, the ad states that the radiator and ignition have been upgraded by the previous owner.
So, what do you think, dear reader? Is this 1985 Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera Convertible Indy 500 Pace Car worth the nearly $10,000 asking price? Let us know what you’re thinking in the comments section below.
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Comments
Yes, it’s a nice low miles convertible.
Indy Pace car with the least powerful base 92 HP engine. Why wasn’t this equipped with the optional 3.8 liter PFI V6? That should have been the std engine especially with the extra weight of the convertible body and being well loaded with options!
All the exterior graphics for a vehicle with only 92 HP? This bad thinking was equivalent to Chevy equipping an early 2000’s Cobalt Coupe with an oversized Rear Deck Spoiler along with transparent Flame graphics; only to be powered by a 4 Cylinder, that was totally ridiculous.
I vote yes. I had that engine in an 84 Fiero with a 4-speed manual transmission. It came from the factory with a 4.10 rear end. It was quick but you ran out of rpm’s because it had no overdrive. Of course back then the max speed limits were 55 mph and most vehicle speedometers only went to 85. I remembered pegging the speedometer and the tach showing over 4 grand. It was fun to drive because it weighed under 2500 lbs and had 4-wheel independent suspension and 4-wheel disc brakes.
Folks this was not the 1985 pace car. The real car was a red and silver Calais convertible 1o2.
Not sure what this mess is. It may have been a support car or festival car but it for sure was not a pace car. I was there and even met the driver Jim Garner.
The real car was 215 hp.
As for the Fiero the real cars 3 of them had super duty engines. 232 hp in them. There was a 4th that had a SOHC turbo 1.8 but it kept blowing up. The speedway has it and the race used car today.
Thanks Scott!
What a hideous time for the American auto industry. Yuk.
Malaise era
That ended in 1983 and just kick started part 2 in 2020
Didn’t like it in 1985 & still don’t have any desire even if it was half the price.
Think this car was bad, remember the emissions-choked Quadrajets and the catastrophic 5.7 diesel just a few years before!
It was a terrible time for GM because Roger Smith was CEO of GM. He came from accounting and had absolutely no business as CEO of GM. He ruined GM’s good name by his cost cutting ideas like this one of making all the divisions use basically the same platform for all their cars. Up to the time when Smith took over, each division had their own motors and designers and platforms, He also demanded that suppliers cut their prices. They did and we got crappy cheap parts that many times didn’t work, out of spec and just basically crappy. Yes, I worked in a GM plant for over 30 years and to endure seeing a corporation, that once was threatened by the government for anti-trust issues because at one time back in the 60’s GM had over 50% of the market. Then along comes Roger Smith who destroys GM down to about 20% or so. GM screwed itself by putting an accounting person in charge of a vehicle production company instead of an vehicle engineer who knew how vehicle production worked. SMH
Ahh yes. The Cadillac Cimarron. It took decades for Cadillac to erase the wrecked reputation that car gave it because of this man. And it’s still kinda suffering from it. Not as bad as before but it lingers. He could also be known as the man that ruined Cadillac.
Show how really sad things are now when these cars are remembered fondly….
The past is usually romanticized
Current times don’t need to be bad for us to look at these things fondly. For some of us these cars were a large part of our childhood. They may not have been much, but the GM A-body cars always held a special place in my nostalgic heart. We had a Buick Century, my neighbor had two Chevrolet Celebrities, my other neighbor on the other side of the house had an Oldsmobile Cutlass Cruiser, I had an uncle with a Celebrity wagon, and an aunt with a Pontiac 6000. All of these were A-bodies and were a large part of my childhood. So whenever I see one, which are becoming harder and harder to see, I smile.
Yup, I had two Celebrities when my kids were young, an 85 and an 87. The 85 had the 2.8 v6 and the 88 had the Iron Duke 2.5. Both were great family cars. The 88 Iron Duke averaged almost 30 mpg on a 2000 mile vacation fully loaded. They were throttle body injected not carbureted. After the 3rd child we graduated to a 91 Astro van, another fantastic family vehicle.
Oh and I forgot to mention. I got my license in the local driving schools Cutlass Ciera.
I would take the simpler and far greater choices of the 80’s and 90’s than the crap and total lack of choice we have now. Most people could care a less that a 1985 Cutlass Ciera could only do 0-60 in 12 or 13 seconds. It was enough power for day to day driving and these cars were plentiful and cheap and parts were even cheaper to keep them going. I owned numerous examples ranging from a 1984 Ciera Brougham Iron Duke which was one of the most comfortable cars I have owned to a 1985 Ciera Cruiser wagon with the Buick 3.0 liter V6 to a 1989 base Ciera sedan with the 2.8 MFI V6 and then a 1993 base Ciera with the 3300 Buick V6. All were reliable, never left me stranded, wer cheap to buy and maintain and were always there for me through good times and bad.
The point- these were some of the best, lowest cost easy to repair cars I have ever owned. The fact that we have nothing like this today just shows how far we have fallen needing loads of safety nannies, insane complexity, overpriced stressed tiny turbo engines that will not last, grossly oversized tires, harsh rides and terrible Winter driving dynamics and dull blob styling. That 1985 Ciera cruiser did anything a 40K GMC Terrain would do moving my entire house and appliances and running a small side appliance business and I paid under 10K for it when it was 2 years old and it cost me peanuts to keep it going up to 200K miles!
If having bigger engine, I might be interested, otherwise I say it’s overpriced, especially needing new top and general overall detailing.
“Pace” Car as in snail’s pace. 0 to 60 mph in a pedestrian 16.2 seconds. 1/4 mi E.T. of 21 seconds.
It has a few things going for it…
1. Nice color combo, especially the interior
2. Convertible
3. Defunct brand
4. Low miles
5. Overall nice condition
6. Some sort of indy history even if not pace car.
However, the base engine is pathetic and the aftermarket wheels need to go. Restore the ripped convertible top and remove any non-original parts. Could be a neat discussion starter at a cars and coffee, but not sure it commands $10K as is.
Where are you getting these numbers from. My 1984 Ciera Brougham sedan with the 2.5 Duke did 13 seconds 0-60. Slow by today’s standards but quicker than all of my friends Subaru 4 bangers of the same time era, Ford Fairmont’s with 200 sixes, 231 Olds Cutlasses and various other cars of the time. Everything was slow in the early 1980’s so having something less slow was a bonus. Comparing today’s 0-60 times with back then is silly and pointless. Much different times and priorities.
Considering the all-new Calais was the official Indy 500 pace car that year, I have to wonder if this was a official parade car or just a tribute car someone stickered up.
It’s the latter. All Pace Car replicas that year were Burgundy Calais with silver interiors, and none were convertibles.
Based on the chopped top I expect it was a festival cat or officials car. There were only two pace cars and they were Calais. One is at Indy the other sold back in 2019.
So I expect this was just a support vehicle
Maybe a parade car or dignitaries car at best. Only takes a few decals, different paint maybe, and special badges to designate a “Special Edition” vehicle. See the few changes to the 2024 Camaro to inflate prices as it was allowed to die again.
GR Auto Gallery has had this car for awhile. But still a lovely time capsule. But they have a 1994 Cutlass Supreme convertible that is catching my eye.
Joe Yoman said it best. I bought one off of eBay 1990 one with 85k miles for $350 in 2005.I put a thousand miles on it in one week.
It’s squared off body was like an American version of a Volvo 240. It was rugged and reliable. I stopped off at a friend’s junkyard and he said people would line up to buy them if GM still made them. There was a time they made cheap cars for people who needed them that were reliable. I kept it for three years and put 50k miles on it. Total cost for car and repairs were $1500