1972 was the final model year for the third generation of Oldsmobile's midsize Cutlass. Styling changes from '71 were minimal and mostly limited to the grille and taillights.
There were the base Cutlass and F-85, the slightly more upmarket and sporty Cutlass S, and finally the Cutlass Supreme, which had a more pronounced notchback roofline, touted as "formal", to distinguish it from the lesser model cars which still sported an aggressively fastback roofline. (Technically, for '72 the 442 was again a Cutlass trim level rather than a separate model.)
The base engine was the 350 cubic inch L34 Olds Rocket V-8 with a four-barrel Rochester carburetor. With its compression reduced to 8.5:1 so as to run on regular unleaded it was only rated at 180 horsepower in the newly-mandated SAE Net system. Cutlass Supreme buyers could opt for the two-barrel L32 350 as a credit option, for which they got better economy at the cost of a haircut to 160 horses. Alternately they could spring for a 250 horsepower L75 455 cube Rocket V-8. Three- and four-speed manuals were available, as well as the three-speed Turbo-Hydra-matic slushbox, as were a variety of rear axle ratios.
Since the Cutlass Supreme was aimed at the growing personal luxury coupe market, Motor Trend tested a '72 hardtop coupe with the base L34 Rocket V-8 against a Chevrolet Monte Carlo Custom, a Dodge Charger SE, and a Mercury Montego Brougham. The 350-powered Cutlass was at something of a disadvantage versus the other three, which all packed 400-cube motors, although the horsepower disparity wasn't all that great (the Mercury had a claimed 240, but FoMoCo was still advertising in gross numbers.)
Equipped with a three-speed automatic and a 2.73:1 rear end, the Cutlass Supreme test car turned in an 11.3 second zero-to-sixty time and strolled through the quarter in a leisurely 18.4 seconds at 78mph.
The Antique Pewter one in the photo was snapped in October of 2025 using a Nikon Df and a 28-200mm f/3.5-5.6G zoom lens.
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