This 1999 Oldsmobile Intrigue is from the Joe Spagnoli Collection and is being auctioned off at Mecum Kissimmee 2022. It is billed as being the last 442 ever produced. Built by GM and was once part of the GM Heritage Collection. It has a 550 hp Cadillac Northstar V-8. Does anyone know the history of this car ?

 

I have read about that car before. I am sure if you Google it or whatever you will find the info on it. Short version from what I remember is that it was built as a if only they made it one of one car. There is info out there on it.

 

"Produced" is a loaded term. That's a one-off hand-built concept car. It has no VIN and cannot be registered for street use. It's a show car only.
The last factory built 442 was a Quad442 N-body Calais.

 

X2 on Joe's comment... No VIN applied by GM, therefore no title for registration...

 

Being a 4-door really kills the aesthetics.

Should have taken a 2-door W-Body Cutlass Supreme and made that a 442. Last year was 1997 for that style.

 

So do you think you could apply for a VIN and a street worthy title? Would that just not work?

 

No,a car has to have an MSO before a title can be issued.

 

Sorry. I have to ask. What is MSO? Miss Sally Only? My Sister Olive?

 

That would work, especially with a 1968 Hurst color scheme.

 

Manufacturer Statment of Origin

 

Uh, no. The car does not comply with federal requirements for emissions or safety. THAT'S why it has no VIN.

 

It would be interesting to see how a car with front wheel drive and 550 horsepower performs. I don’t recall a production vehicle with front wheel drive being equipped with an engine even close to that much power. The 400 horsepower Toronado is one that comes to mind but….

 

It's kinda hard to steer when your front wheels are spinning.

 

Back in the 80's Oldsmobile handed cars out by the handful to be raced with no vin#'s. Had a buddy who had one that is still being raced.

 

And you still can't legally register them for street use. The new COPO Camaro and Mustang Cobra Jets also come without VINs for the same reason.

 

at the copa copo cabanana
the hottest spot north of havana

 

Nice car for some serious Olds collector.

 

Never said you could register a race car without a vin #,just making the point that there has been many cars without vins out in the real world from Olds.

 

No one ever said that there weren't. The question was "So do you think you could apply for a VIN and a street worthy title? Would that just not work?"

 

Back in the day i bought a 66 442 that was never on the street always a race car, I bought it after it was done and it was racec in stock class from 66-70 it was a record holder in its day then went Super Stock racing then retired as I bought it as a roller no engine or trans. I droped in a 425 stock and went racing it pulled the front tires off the ground and went 12.50 in 1/4 mile at 110 MPH. Sold it years later I wish I had it back. It did have vin but no glass in it or wipers ect. The engine was put back 3" in firewall might be why front tires were off the ground.

 

Thank you. I just don't get what happened to spelling words. 🤯

 

The use of single letters to spell out long or short words is used world wide. IE: NASA, NASCAR, NHRA,GM, GE, DMV etc. Nice concept if comprehended, saves time and effort.

 

And generally accepted and used.

 

The COPO Camaro, on comes with a bill of sale, no title is issued.

 

Because, again, it doesn't have a VIN because it does not comply with federal safety or emissions laws. Off-road use only.

 

The only way I can conceive it being remotely possible to get a semblence of a street legal COPO Camaro is to get a Camaro Rolling Chassis (aka CRC) from Chevrolet and complete it yourself. Have no idea if they're still even entertaining this COPO minus engine/trans setup anymore, but many states have a "home-built" vehicle process to obtain a VIN without previously having a title or MSO. As I understand it, the CRC comes without a VIN, MSO, and engine/trans assembly and has everything but a few more parts such as the hood, third member, driveshaft to make it a complete NHRA-certified vehicle, as far as GM is concerned.

You can buy your own various parts to complete your "home built" hot rod. I highly suggest finding out what's feasible to get a passing grade from your local governing authorities before I tried to drop any coins, as I would suspect that the process can differ vastly depending on your locality. This is also assuming you have DEEP pockets ($$$) and they're still supporting the program. You can even get it painted! Don't know if this program is still around, but I've never cared to check into it. Supposedly there was some dude in one of the southern states who built one of these several years ago and got it licensed, but I don't recall where I saw the article. Don't even know if it actually was true to claim.

NHRA Certified Camaro Rolling Chassis | Chevrolet Performance

Interesting avenue, but again, likely rather tricky to pull off.

 

You cannot legally register a car that does not comply with emissions and safety certifications for the model year, period. Has it been done? Yeah, probably. Doesn't mean it was legal.

That NHRA rolling chassis doesn't have airbags or any of the other federally required safety equipment. The states that do have "constructed car" registration avenues that assign a state-issued VIN are registering street rods and kit cars, not current year bodies.

 

The car does have a VIN.

 

Whats the engine code for a 500hp Cadillac motor?

 

I actually liked the 93-95 body style on the convertibles. I had a 95 but the electrical system went bad believe it or not in 97.