G-Force GF01 Oldsmobile Aurora Indy Car, 1997
Oldsmobile Aurora, I
Oldsmobile Aurora, I•
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Chassis No.: GF-001
Auction: Monterey 2019
Auction date: August 17, 2019
Lot No.: F128
$400,000 | Sold
- Transmission: Manual
- Exterior: Red/White/blue
- Interior: Black
- Body: Indy Car
- 1997 Indianapolis 500 Winning Car
- Driven by two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Arie Luyendyk to victory at Indianapolis
- 1997 Indianapolis 500 pole-winning car
- Luyendyk led 61 laps in this car in the 1997 Indianapolis 500
- 1997 Texas 500 winning car with Luyendyk driving
- 1998 Las Vegas 500 winning car with Luyendyk driving
- 1999 Las Vegas 500 winning car with Sam Schmidt driving
- Treadway Racing G-Force GF01 chassis
- The first G-Force Indy Car ever built?”chassis no. GF-001
- 4.0L Oldsmobile Indy Aurora V-8 engine
- Emco 6-speed manual transmission
- Finished in Red/White/Blue #5 Nortel/Sprint PCS livery
- Willans Racing safety belts
- Speedway wing package
- AP Racing brakes
- OZ Racing wheels
- Firestone Firehawk Racing tires
- Indianapolis 500 registration serial no. 98205
- Restored by Treadway Racing
- Immediately eligible for select vintage races such as the SVRA Brickyard Vintage Invitational
- The car may require a fuel pump rebuild and does currently have an oil leak
- The car is currently missing its wiring loom, telemetry and an ECU, which can be built in order to put this machine into running order
- Sold on a Bill of Sale
Vintage photo courtesy of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Arie Luyendyk—known to his legion of fans as the Flying Dutchman—captured victory in the 1997 running of the Greatest Spectacle in Racing in this No. 5 Nortel/Sprint PCS Treadway Racing G-Force GF01 powered by a 4.0L Oldsmobile Indy Aurora V-8 engine. Finished in a red, white and blue livery, Luyendyk sped away from his pole position to lead 61 laps on his way to his second Indianapolis 500 victory over fellow Treadway Racing driver Scott Goodyear.
This marks him as the only driver in the storied history of the Indianapolis 500 to capture the pole and then finish first in a 1-2 finish with his teammate. It was a well-deserved triumph, coming after rain delays that caused no laps to be run on the original race day and a mere 15 laps completed the following day. On day three, Luyendyk took home the spoils of victory—a swig of the traditional victory lane milk as well as prize money of $1,568,150. This car is the first G-Force Indy car—Chassis No. GF-001—ever built, and it was mated to the all-new Oldsmobile Indy Aurora V-8 powerplant.
Luyendyk used this same car to score a win at the next race on the calendar, the 1997 Texas 500, a race famous for USAC scoring errors that originally had A.J. Foyt driver Billy Boat celebrating in victory lane. The Flying Dutchman loudly protested outside of victory lane, where he was quickly met by Foyt. The burly Texan—famous for both his sterling driving record and cantankerous nature—smacked Luyendyk to the ground and told him to leave. After review, it was determined that Luyendyk, not Boat, was the actual winner of the race. A third victory for this car, without any of the unwanted scoring snafu drama of Texas, came for Luyendyk the following year at the 1998 Las Vegas 500.
Then, in 1999, current IndyCar team owner Sam Schmidt piloted GF-001 to his lone victory as a driver from the pole position—marking the car’s remarkable fourth win—in the Las Vegas 500. Looking like a rock star from an ‘80s hair band, Luyendyk was all business in the cockpit of an Indy car. His Indianapolis 500 career started fast as he garnered Rookie-of-the-Year honors with a seventh-place finish in 1985. Five years later, he captured his first Indianapolis 500 win over a stacked field of competitors. The 1990 finishing order behind the Dutchman was literally a who’s who of the sport with Bobby Rahal finishing second, Emerson Fittipaldi third, Al Unser Jr. fourth, Rick Mears fifth and A.J.
Foyt sixth. All were former Indianapolis 500 winners, with two four-time winners in that group. Luyendyk was perhaps even better known for his qualifying prowess at Indianapolis than his racing success. A three-time pole winner in 1993, 1997 and 1999, Luyendyk’s most famous run did not net him the pole position, but, in 1996, he set a one-lap record of 237.498 MPH on the last lap of his run and a four-lap average record of 236.986 MPH, both of which still stand today. G-Force chassis GF-001 was restored by Treadway Racing and is immediately eligible for select vintage races, such as the SVRA Brickyard Vintage Invitational.
While the Oldsmobile Indy Aurora V-8 engine is installed, the car is currently missing telemetry and an ECU, both of which can be built in order to put this machine into running order. It’s a celebrated occasion when an Indianapolis 500-winning car becomes available, and as the winning steed of a two-time Indianapolis 500 champion, this G-Force GF01 Oldsmobile Aurora Indy car is a rare find indeed.
https://www.mecum.com/lots/CA19-388358/1997-g-force-gf01-oldsmobile-aurora-indy-car/
