Did Jennifer Connelly’s ownership drive the price of this ’72 Cutlass?

Before she was Penny Benjamin in Top Gun: Maverick, or Alicia Nash in A Beautiful Mind, Hollywood star Jennifer Connelly bought a beautiful car—and it wasn’t a Maverick. It was a 1972 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme convertible. And that classic, which Connelly has owned for the last 23 years, just sold for $36,500 on BringATrailer.com.

The winner of the auction, Jeff2306, jumped into the fray on the final day; his last bid came with two minutes to go and proved to be enough to snag the car. While some of the commenters on BaT asked “Jennifer who?” they likely know exactly who she is, because the 52-year-old actress has appeared in more than 40 films since her first role in 1984’s Once Upon A Time in America. According to the BaT description, Connelly purchased the Matador Red-over-black-vinyl Oldsmobile in 2000, her busiest year as an actress up to that point.

Connelly’s breakthrough role came a year later when she co-starred with Russell Crowe in A Beautiful Mind.

The actress’ 1972 Cutlass Supreme convertible is powered by a 180-horsepower, 350-cubic-inch V-8 engine—with a four-barrel carburetor, black air cleaner, and gold intake manifold, cylinder heads, and valve covers—mated to a three-speed automatic transmission. The California car features a power-operated black convertible top, power steering, power-adjustable front bench seat, power windows, a Pioneer CD stereo and speakers, faux woodgrain trim accents, power-assisted front disc brakes, color-keyed mirrors, dual exhaust outlets, and body-side moldings. Red-accented 14-inch Super Stock II Rallye wheels wear bright trim rings and Oldsmobile center caps and are mounted with 225/70 BFGoodrich Radial T/A white-letter tires. A full-size spare with a mismatched tire is stored in the trunk.

Work on the Olds that was completed in July 2023 includes the installation of a PerTronix electronic ignition conversion and replacement of the throttle cable, distributor cap, spark plugs, coolant overflow tank, brake master cylinder, tires, and rear wheel cylinders and brake hoses.

Notable flaws include chips, swirls, and scratches in the paint, a non-working air conditioner, and a broken gear indicator needle in the speedometer. The five-digit odometer shows 70,000 miles; actual mileage is unknown.

The Cutlass (chassis 3J67K2M206822) was completed in April 1972 at the Oldsmobile plant in Lansing, Michigan, about 17 months after Connelly’s birth on December 12, 1970.

Although Connelly has a more public connection to the 1973 Porsche 911 S coupe that she drove as Penny Benjamin in 2022’s top-grossing film, Top Gun: Maverick, she has a more personal connection to the Cutlass. Did that make a difference in the bidding? It doesn’t appear so.

A 1972 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme convertible in #2 (Excellent) condition has an average value of $32,600, meaning the Connelly factor may have added $3900.

“While celebrity ownership usually equates to buyers willing to pay a premium, there’s generally a bigger bump when the owner is known as a hardcore car enthusiast—which Jenninfer Connelly is not,” says Hagerty Price Guide editor Greg Ingold, adding that the Hagerty Power List provides a detailed account of the impact top celebrities have on vehicle values. “What is truly priceless, however, is this car’s cool factor and the fun that its new owner will have being able to tell people who owned it before he did.”

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