Oldsmobile Aerotech III Concept Car

If the Oldsmobile Aerotech II concept car represented a taste of the future, the Oldsmobile Aerotech III concept car was a moderate evolution of Oldsmobile products that would be coming soon.

The Oldsmobile Aerotech III concept car was a mildly disguised version of the 1988 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme then headed for showrooms. The nose was low, the tail high, and triple horizontal bodyside ribbing wrapped around the front and rear of the car, but faded away toward the center, at the doors.

©2007 Publications International, Ltd. Other than mini-cube headlamps, the Oldsmobile Aerotech III concept car was the image of the coming 1988 Olds Cutlass Supreme.

A functional front air dam and a lumpy aerofoil on the stubby rear deck helped cut down on aerodynamic lift and drag forces. Up front were experimental "mini-cube" headlamps. And hugging the ground were low-profile tires on 17-inch aluminum wheels.

Reclining bucket seats carried all four Oldsmobile Aerotech III concept car passengers in comfort, with air bags protecting those in front. A sliding security shelf gave clearance for reclining the rear buckets, while at the same time allowing access to the trunk.

Added storage space came from a center console that ran the full length of the interior. A power tilt system automatically moved the steering wheel aside as you entered or departed, and it returned to a memorized position at a button's touch. For ease of use, radio and climate-control switches resided in the steering wheel hub.

Similar to the coupe/wagon, the Oldsmobile Aerotech III concept car had a head-up display that projected vital operating information into the driver's line of sight. The electronics however, went a giant step further, with a sophisticated rear-obstacle detection system.

A compact rear-facing radar unit monitored the area immediately behind the car, giving audible and visual warnings whenever the car approached a fixed obstacle.

Tentative powerplant for the Aerotech III was the same as the II's, namely a supercharged Quad 4; but a 5-speed manual gearbox replaced the automatic transmission used in the Aerotech II.

Both the Aerotech II and Aerotech III evolved from the original, record-breaking Aerotech. Learn more about the original model and its evolution next.

For more on concept cars and the production models they forecast, check out:

• Concept Cars
• Future Cars
• Consumer Guide auto show reports
• Classic Cars