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May, 2001 Cruise News

CRUISE NEWS - MAY 2001 STORY LINE - STUDEBAKER

STUDEBAKER. Started out as a partnership between a blacksmith and a wagon maker, called themselves H & C Studebaker back in 1852. The boys made themselves a tidy profit supplying wagons to the North during the United States Civil War. Studebaker cars didn’t come along until 1902 and it was based on an Edison Electric. Studebaker gasoline cars were born in 1904.

Probably the best remembered Studebakers were the Silver and Golden Hawk models of the ‘50s/’60s, the Grand Turismo models, the Avanti fiberglass bodied cars of ‘63/’64 and the Lark models optioned with the supercharged 289CID V8’s. Properly factory optioned, these small Studebaker cars were hot performers-as documented by some of the Bonneville records broken in the ‘60s and some of which are still unbroken to this day.

In the early days of Studebaker, just after the turn of the 20^th century, getting into car design, build and production was what counted. Then as now-profits are what counted, but building a good car was all important. And as other car companies started up competition was certainly keen. Studebaker survived. Through all of its years the Studebaker car was well built, rugged design and yet simple. The Studebaker cars of the twenties and thirties were big luxurious and very powerful-and I personally sometimes wonder why more street rods of Studebaker lineage are not seen, as they were very stunning automobiles.

Studebaker cars of the ‘40s were, typically ‘40s styling of that era ... until after the war. The new for 1947 Studebaker cars were different, modern and all new. They evolved into the famed bullet nose Studebaker, the Regal and Speedster models that are still the body style of choice for setting ‘wind cheating’ records on the Bonneville Salt Flats, Muroc and Edwards-and the beautiful GT Hawk designs.

In 1963 the Avanti was designed, engineered and introduced to compete against America’s greatest sports car, the Corvette. Led by famed industrial designer Raymond Loewy, the Avanti was designed by a team of stylists and engineers in a rented house in Palm Springs, California … in complete secrecy. Avanti as an automobile was a success, but its flawed manufacturing and production problems put it out to pasture after only two years of actual production. But not before the Avanti and other performance optioned Studebaker cars of 1963 set world speed records at Bonneville. An R2 powered Super Hawk was capable of over 140mph, a Super Lark with the same R2 power plant, over 132MPH. All with a supercharged 289CID Studebaker V8. The Avanti with Andy Granetelli driving and a Granetelli modified R4 of 304CID was a190MPH rocketship! Not to many years back, 1996, Ron Hall from Waterford, MI. broke 200MPH with a full race prepped Avanti at Bonneville-the first time an all Studebaker powered and built automobile went that fast-200.426MPH.

Studebaker production moved to Canada in early1964, all high performance models were dropped and engines were supplied by Chevrolet. Studebaker production ceased in March of 1966.

And FYI, the H&C, in H&C Studebaker, stands for … Henry and Clement .