{"id":38029,"date":"2022-12-11T09:03:53","date_gmt":"2022-12-11T14:03:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/?p=38029"},"modified":"2022-12-11T09:03:53","modified_gmt":"2022-12-11T14:03:53","slug":"1138082_jay-leno-1991-oldsmobile-quad-442-w-41","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/?p=38029","title":{"rendered":"Jay Leno checks out rare 1991 Oldsmobile Quad 442 W-41"},"content":{"rendered":"

Regular Jay Leno’s Garage viewers are likely familiar with the Oldsmobile 442, as a well-preserved 1966 442<\/a> previously appeared on the show. This time, though, Leno is featuring a very different take on the 442 nameplate.<\/p>\n

The 1991 Oldsmobile Quad 442 W-41 was one of the last attempts to bring back the hallowed nameplate after its heyday of the 1960s. Like the original 442, the Quad 442 was a performance version of a more humble model, in this case the Oldsmobile Cutlass Calais<\/a>. Oldsmobile didn’t stuff a powerful V-8 under the hood, as in the original 442, though, as Jeff Szafraniec, owner of the W-41 road car and race car shown in the episode, explains.<\/p>\n

\"1991<\/p>\n

1991 Oldsmobile Quad 442 W-41 on Jay Leno’s Garage<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

In the late 1980s, General Motors began working with outside engineering firms to develop a high-performance 4-cylinder engine for its many small front-wheel-drive models. The result was the Quad 4 dual-overhead cam inline-4, a 2.3-liter version of which powers the Quad 442.<\/p>\n

While that may not sound as exciting as the V-8 engines that powered early 442s, the Quad 4 has an impressive resume. GM installed a twin-turbocharged version\u2014producing around 1,000 hp\u2014in the first-generation Oldsmobile Aerotech prototype, which four-time Indianapolis 500 winner A.J. Foyt drove to a world closed-course speed record of 257.123 mph at a Texas test track in 1987.<\/p>\n

\"1991<\/p>\n

1991 Oldsmobile Quad 442 W-41 on Jay Leno’s Garage<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Around the same time, GM also began building Quad 4-powered Calais race cars for SCCA competition. The SCCA didn’t like teams racing\u2014and winning\u2014with a non-production engine, which is what actually prompted GM to build a Quad 4 Calais road car, Szafraniec explains in the video.<\/p>\n

The result was the Quad 442, which launched in W-40 form (referencing the W-30 code used on some previous versions of the 442) for the 1990 model year, with the W-41 following for 1991. The W-41 produced 190 hp, up from the W-40’s 180 hp. It also got different suspension tuning and different gearing for its 5-speed manual transmission (no automatic was offered). Racing versions got a forged crankshaft and titanium connecting rods, a 240-hp output, and lacked creature comforts like air conditioning.\u00a0<\/p>\n