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The ’71 Olds Cutlass Supreme SX was a car with distinctive style and appeal, packaged with a roadworthy chassis made for a broad range of highway conditions. Lane has done a phenomenal job of capturing the style and feeling of this car while also getting all the details just right!
As Lane has given us this Cutlass Supreme SX, it has all the elements that make it a car that a young married couple, its likely demographic, would be proud to own. The “halo” white vinyl top speaks of elegance and sophistication and contrasts and compliments the Matador Red paint. The car is optioned with the D35 body-color dual side mirrors and Rallye Sport wheels. It sports the PK5 Firestone G70-14 Wide Oval tires with raised white letters. The drivetrain features the L32, 455 cu. in. Olds V-8 with a four-barrel Rochester QuadraJet carburetor putting out 320 gross horsepower or 250 SAE net horsepower. It is equipped with a 3-speed TH400 (Turbo Hydromatic) OD-coded transmission. (The OD was a softer shifting trans than 1970’s optional OG-coded TH400.) Power is transmitted back to an 8.5”, c-type, 10-bolt rear-end likely running 2.56 gears. The Y79 “SX” package elements were mostly found under the car and included: heavy-duty springs and shocks, front and rear sway bars, boxed rear lower control arms, trumpet exhaust and a 442-style notched rear bumper.
The interior was appointed in the standard white vinyl bucket seats, the N34 Custom Sport steering wheel and the W26 Hurst Dual-Gate shifter. This last item allows the car to be driven as a normal automatic and then moved over into the optional gate for “manual” shifting of the automatic trans for more spirited driving. The center console is appliquéd in wood-grained vinyl and has an armrest/storage box. The car also features the optional sport gauge package featuring a tach & clock in the second large opening on the dash. The trunk features a “zolatone”-like paint finish, the spare tire and jack. All the stickers under the trunk lid tell you how to use them when you get a flat.
So what do we have here? We have a car that appeals to any mother or wife, but has the horsepower and chassis to hold its own on a freeway, mountain road, or at a stoplight grand prix……. Something for everybody!
And Lane has done a wonderful job of rendering this beauty in 1:18 scale. All the pieces mesh together seamlessly to look like someone had shrunk the real thing. The paint is rich and lustrous and the vinyl top has just the right amount of matte that exactly duplicates the look of real vinyl. All of the chrome and photo-etch trim pieces fit perfectly and duplicate the original. The engine is typical Lane which means it’s beautifully executed and detailed. All the plumbing, accessories, brake lines and stickers are just as they should be. The brake booster and reservoir cap are finished in gold iridite and look oh so believable! When you flip the car over, you see real coil springs and shock absorbers that allow the suspension full travel. You also see fuel lines running to the rear-mounted tank and the steel brake lines running back and becoming black rubber lines going out to the wheels. So much detail that I ask myself: “How many purchasers have really spent this much time seeing all the work that’s been put into this car and do they appreciate it?” This level of detail verges on obsessive and gives me great respect for the job that Eric Trapp and all the folks at Lane have done. If you ever had one of these rare cars or just admired them from afar, this gorgeous piece of model making should absolutely become part of your collection!
(03/02/2005)
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