1953 Oldsmobile Fiesta Turns Heads, the Only Known Example Finished in This Color

The Fiesta name is most often linked to Oldsmobile’s 88-based station wagons, but the brand first used the badge in 1953 for a special-edition convertible built on the slightly longer Ninety-Eight platform. It was part of a three-car lineup created by General Motors to showcase its styling leadership. The other two members of this exclusive trio were the Cadillac Series 62 Eldorado and the Buick Roadmaster Skylark.

Compared to a standard Ninety-Eight, the Fiesta stood out with a lowered beltline, a shorter wraparound windshield, and distinctive “spinner” wheel covers. It was also loaded from the factory, coming standard with every available Oldsmobile option of the time, with the lone exception being air conditioning.

Under the hood, the Fiesta shared the same 303-cubic-inch (5.0-liter) Rocket V8 found in the Ninety-Eight. However, a slightly higher compression ratio bumped output from 165 to 170 horsepower. Power was sent to the rear wheels through a four-speed Hydra-Matic automatic transmission.

Unlike the Cadillac Eldorado and Buick Skylark, which continued beyond their debut, the Oldsmobile Fiesta was a one-year-only model. It’s also the rarest of the three. With a sticker price of $5,715—roughly $70,000 in today’s money—the Fiesta cost about twice as much as a standard Ninety-Eight convertible. That steep price limited production to just 458 units, compared to more than 7,500 regular Ninety-Eights sold that year.

The car shown here represents a near-perfect, frame-off restoration and is considered highly authentic, a claim backed up by numerous awards earned over the years. Its elegance is enhanced by its code 10 black exterior paint paired with a code 99 black-and-ivory interior. And rarity goes even further: among the 458 Fiestas built, this is the only example known to have left the factory finished in black.

This particular Fiesta is one of roughly 40 Oldsmobiles set to cross the auction block at Mecum Kissimmee 2026, and it’s expected to be among the most valuable. While a standard 1953 Ninety-Eight convertible typically struggles to top $40,000 at auction, the Fiesta has firmly established itself as a six-figure collectible.

Data from classic.com shows that around 20 examples have sold for more than $100,000 in recent years, with four surpassing the $200,000 mark. This unique black Fiesta is among them, having sold for an impressive $209,000 back in 2015. That figure has since been eclipsed by an ivory-and-red Fiesta that changed hands for $247,500.

Could this black convertible reclaim the title of the most expensive Fiesta ever sold? The collector market can be unpredictable, but the car certainly has the credentials to approach—or even exceed—the $250,000 mark. If it brings more than $253,000, it wouldn’t just set a Fiesta record—it would become the most valuable Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight of any year, dethroning a 1958 convertible that currently holds that distinction.