The Oldsmobile Aerotech was a series of experimental high-performance test cars developed by Oldsmobile, the mid-range marque among General Motors' five American passenger car brands. First details were released in mid-September 1986, describing the project as a "high-performance test car" built to explore the limits of a new engine and to attempt speed records on a closed circuit.
The Aerotech was a single-seat, long, low vehicle covered by a glass dome canopy, styled by the GM Design Staff. Its cockpit sat far forward beneath the domed windshield, with cooling air ducts positioned alongside the glass and an air intake for the mid-mounted engine set into its rear edge. The side sills ran into deep skirts, and a stabilizing wing was mounted at the tail. The underbody was specially designed to optimize downforce, with ground clearance adjustable between 2.5 and 13 cm front and rear. The car measured 488 cm long, 218 cm wide, and only 102 cm high, with an unusually long 283 cm wheelbase (compared with 265 cm on the Porsche 956 racer), reflecting a priority on directional stability over cornering agility. Unladen weight was 726 kg.
Power came from a mid-mounted Oldsmobile Quad 4 Turbo engine, a new DOHC 16-valve four-cylinder already fitted to the Ital-Design Incas concept sedan shown at that year's Turin show. Each cylinder had twin injectors, and the electronic ignition was designed for speeds up to 12,000 rpm, with the engine monitored by a dedicated computer system as part of research into the limits of high-performance engines of this type; the Quad 4 was slated to appear in GM production cars from 1988. No drag coefficient or power output figures were disclosed at the car's unveiling, and the chassis used for record runs was based on a 1985 March Indianapolis racing car.
Three versions of the original Aerotech were built, two short-tailed and one long-tailed. Driven by four-time Indianapolis winner A. J. Foyt, a short-tailed, single-turbo version set an unofficial closed-course lap record of 413.133 km/h (257.123 mph) at the 12.4 km Firestone test track at Fort Stockton, Texas, on 27 August 1987, surpassing the previous record of 403.9 km/h set by a Mercedes-Benz C111 with a 5-litre turbodiesel V8 at Nardo in April 1979. A separate long-tailed, twin-turbo Aerotech with displacement reduced to 1993 cc, reaching about 850 hp on a single turbo and around 1000 hp with twin Garrett or Rotomaster turbochargers, achieved a flying-mile average of 430.24 km/h, with a peak of 455.3 km/h before a connecting-rod bearing failure ended further attempts. A later Aerotech variant, powered by a 4.0-litre Oldsmobile Aurora V8 and fitted with lights, broke 47 speed endurance records including the 10,000 and 25,000 km marks over an eight-day, 24-hour effort at the same Fort Stockton track in December 1992.
