Oldsmobile Aurora Indy Pace Car
The Oldsmobile Aurora was a luxury 4-door sedan produced under the Oldsmobile division of General Motors and introduced in 1995 to replace the discontinued Toronado 2-door personal luxury coupe. The vehicle was based on the Cadillac-derived G platform, which was also the same platform as the Buick Riviera's. After the Ninety Eight got discontinued in 1996, the Aurora became Oldsmobile's flagship. Furthermore, it was thought to take the place of the Eighty-Eight or Ninety-Eight (at least for 2000), in a way though nothing was confirmed. A V6 engine was added in 2001 as the replacement for the Eighty-Eight and the LSS. It was meant to help bring life back to Oldsmobile, but, first few years of offerings did not feature the Oldsmobile name. There had even been a rumor that "Oldsmobile" might be changed to just "Aurora" as a whole.
Second Generation
It was initially planned to introduce the second generation Oldsmobile Aurora to move higher on the market and continue to feature a V8 engine, sharing the same platform with the new Buick Riviera. An automobile named the Antares was supposed to take the place of the Eighty-Eight. Nevertheless, after Buick entered a recession developing its Riviera and Oldsmobile encountered fiscal problems, the new Aurora was compelled to take shape of the Antares and built in a brief time span. Consequently, the Aurora went downsized to replace the H-body Eighty-Eight in a short-wheelbase G-body. The G-platform was eventually shared by the Aurora, Buick LeSabre, and Pontiac Bonneville. A V6 engine was available for the first time on the new Aurora, known as the LX-5. It was a derivative of the DOHC Aurora V8, known as the "Shortstar." The V6-powered Aurora was offered from the 2001 to 2002 model years.
Production of the second-generation Aurora began on November 10, 1999, and the last Aurora 3.5s rolled off the assembly line on June 21, 2002. The production of Aurora 4.0s concluded on March 28, 2003 at the Orion, Michigan plant. Over 71,722 second-generation Auroras had been built by the time the production came to an end (53,640 in 2001, 10,865 in 2002, 7,217 in 2003).
Engines
- 2001-2002 LX5 3.5 L (214 in³) V6, 215 hp @ 5600 rpm, 230 ft·lbf torque @ 4400 rpm.
- 2001-2003 L47 4.0 L (244 in³) V8, 250 hp @ 5600 rpm, 260 ft·lbf torque @ 4400 rpm.
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