1950 Studebaker Champion Deluxe Business Coupe
Studebaker’s bold “bullet nose” front end for 1950 gave the Champion line an unmistakable identity on American roads, and the three-passenger Business Coupe was among its rarer configurations (2,082 left the factory that year).
Created under the direction of Raymond Loewy, with key contributions from Virgil Exner and the Loewy studio team, the design introduced modest rear fins and a chrome-ringed spinner grille that divided opinion at the time but has since become one of the most recognized shapes of the early 1950s.
Underneath, the Champion rode a 113-inch wheelbase and featured unequal-length control arm front suspension with coil springs. A 169.6 cubic inch flathead inline six produced 85 horsepower through a single-barrel carburetor, paired with a three-speed manual gearbox, with Hill-Holder available as an option.
Light and compact compared to its Big Three competitors, the Champion helped Studebaker achieve production of over 343,000 cars for the 1950 model year.
The Business Coupe appealed to commercial travelers and salesmen who valued its trunk space over rear-seat accommodations, making survivors uncommon today relative to the more popular sedan and Starlight Coupe variants.
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