“ The Olds 442 started life in 1964 as a quick reaction to the runaway and unexpected success of John Z Delorean's tempest in a Tempest GTO. The technical name for the $285 option package on the Cutlass was the "B09 Police Apprehender" though no one ever called it anything but 4-4-2. The moniker stood for 4-barrell carb, 4-speeds and 2 tailpipes. And while the 442 started out life in 1964 with a relatively small 330 cubic inch motor, by 1970 Olds had super-sized the engine to a very satisfying 455 cid.

Officially the largest V8 Oldsmobile ever shoehorned into a car produced 365 hp. Obviously that's not enough so an option package was created - called W-30 - that offered up 5 more horses. In reality of course, both engines generated in excess of 400 muscular horses with the W-30 mill probably hitting 420 before valve-float became an issue. Torque? An even 500 ft.

Of course the W-30 option was the only way to go. Aside from the 5 horsepower - achieved through a blueprinted engine, an upgraded cam, unrestricted exhausts and forced air-induction via the functional hood scoops - W-30 gave you a weight saving fiberglass hood and plastic inner-fenders, an aluminum pumpkin and less sound deadening material.

This added muscle and lightness made the 442 W-30 good for a 0-60 sprint of 5.7 seconds and 14.2 in the quarter-mile @ 100 mph. Though the 442 is moving faster at the end of a quarter-mile.  1971 saw shorter connecting rods and reduced power. We'll take our Fantasy 1970 442 W-30 in blue with white stripes. And you know what? We'll take the convertible.”  - From the Jalopnik Fantasy Garage