There was a time when GM became a synonym for innovation and cutting-edge technology. And we aren't talking about General Motors’ V2V (vehicle to vehicle) technology or the "Air Cushion Restraint System," aka airbags, but about a high-speed record-setting car that took the world by storm thanks to the speed records it set and the beautiful aerodynamic shape it had. At one point, this concept car was so popular that magazines featured it in advertorials and marketing teams wanted it in TV spots.

Fans of the '80s automotive era will know by now that the car is the Oldsmobile Aerotech, the experimental high-performance car designed by GM chief engineer Ed Welburn. Between 1987 and 1992, Oldsmobile manufactured three innovative cars that hit staggering speeds. For instance, the car driven by A.J. Foyt at the Ford Stockton test center in Texas posted a top speed of 267 mph.

Related: A Look Back at Oldsmobile's Record Breaking Concept Cars

The Quad 4 Engine Program

Oldsmobile Aerotech – 1987
via: Oldsmobile Forum

By late 1984, Oldsmobile was developing the Quad 4 engine. This was a groundbreaking inline four-cylinder engine that incorporated four valves per cylinder and dual overhead camshafts. The engine was advertised by Oldsmobile as powerful and fuel efficient. More importantly, it was more powerful than the engine of European rivals, as it produced 150 hp (112 kW) and 160 lb⋅ft (217 N⋅m) in its standard configuration. Considering the unique advantages of the Quad 4, it is hardly surprising that Ted Louckes, head of the Quad 4 engine program, was looking for the perfect car to feature this powerful engine. Accordingly, Louckes persuaded GM to manufacture a research car that will reveal the engine’s capabilities. In 1985, the design team already came up with the first drawings for the new car. The original model revoked images with Le Mans winning vehicles; thus, executives were impressed with the design.

The elongated carbon-fiber body shell was laid on a modified March 84C CART chassis. Under the hood, the engineers re-imagined the Quad 4 engine and made it turbocharged and capable of generating 900 hp (671 kW). After the approval of the initial designs, Ed Welburn, assistant chief designer at Oldsmobile, was tasked with designing the high-performance car. Welburn’s sketches showed the Aerotech with a longer rear body or tail, but this went against Louckes' plan of having four-time Indy 500 winner, A.J. Foyt drive the car to a closed course record at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Related: Cool Concept Cars from Boring Car Manufacturer

The Oldsmobile Aerotech: The Three Supercars

The Quad 4 Aerotech was meant to test and demonstrate GM technology
via: Reddit

Several engineers didn’t believe that the longer tail was the ideal option, so two cars were created with a shorter rear body work and a round nose. But although this vehicle had an aerodynamic shape, A. J. Foyt was still distrustful, doubting the success of the car. However, once he drove the short tail version and saw the incredible speed it reached, he became enchanted with the Aerotech. As such, when Foyt drove the first version of the Aerotech on August 27, 1987, at the test track near Fort Stockton Texas, he set a world closed-course speed record of 257.123 mph (413.788 km/h). One day prior to this record, the Aerotech broke another record when it reached the top speed of 267.88 mph (431.10 km/h).

Following the success of the first experimental car, Oldsmobile started manufacturing another car, which was almost identical to the first model but had the elongated rear body work and a twin turbocharged 2.3-liter Quad 4 engine, designed in partnership with Fueling Engineering. This high-performance engine produced a whopping power output in excess of 1,000 hp (746 kW).

The final version was manufactured in December 1992 and came with a 4.0-liter Oldsmobile Aurora V8 engine and functional lights. This model broke even more world records, including the 10,000- kilometer (170.761 mph) and 25,000-kilometer (158.386 mph) world speed records. Despite the record-breaking success of the Oldsmobile Aerotech, this fantastic vehicle never went into production. As for Oldsmobile, even this innovative, high-performance car didn’t save the brand of American automobiles from going out of business. Fans of this legendary vehicle can still see the car at GM’s Heritage Collection, although it’s a pity to think that such a monstrous vehicle ended up in a museum instead of flying across the American highways and roads.

Nevertheless, this wasn’t the first experimental car that impressed the public and auto community, but never went into production. For example, Lamborghini Cala, Alfa Romeo Carabo designed and constructed on the chassis from an Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale, and Mercedes-Benz C111 were all impressive concept cars that despite a hearty welcome never became production vehicles. In the end, even if a concept car impresses with its performance and daring design, there are other factors that automakers need to consider before greenlighting production.