In an earlier Shoulder Check, we discussed Max Hoffman and his work introducing Porsche to America. While heading home in my Porsche from a local garage after its fall oil change, I parked my car next to a Studebaker. It was from a later era than Porsche’s work with the Studebaker, but it did spark curiosity about that project.
Looking through my Porsche library, I did not find very much information from that era or project. However, I have the complete Excellence magazine back to January 1987. The name changed from Porsche to Excellence in November 1987. Carrera had been a strong possibility for the new name, but Porsche also owned that name. The internet provided me with an index to find Karl Ludvigsen’s article in Excellence on Porsche consultation with Studebaker in the fifties. This Shoulder Check draws its information from Ludvigsen’s article, which was published June 1992. The project was given the name Type 542.
As noted in the previous Provinz column, Hoffman arranged for Ferry Porsche to meet with Studebaker in May 1951, in South Bend, Indiana. Porsche suggested a small rear engine car but that was not something Studebaker, a rather staid company, was comfortable with. The agreement specified a six-cylinder, three speed, air-cooled front engine. Studebaker would be allowed to use the Porsche name in promotional material for the conventional sedan with a top speed of 85 mph.
Porsche ultimately designed two engines: an air-cooled V6 of 120 degrees and, under a further agreement, a V6 water-cooled engine. The money earned from the car design allowed Porsche to move from the wooden huts they were using to make the early cars to a new facility in Zuffenhausen. The project design work continued at this new Porsche facility.
Restrictions were imposed on the design as Studebaker could only build bodies of limited length, which ended at the firewall in their South Bend factory. They were unwilling or unable financially to redo their entire factory. The bodies were shipped to another factory in California where the front part was attached. Not only was the factory limited in the type of vehicles it could build, but the rail cars and railway tunnels couldn’t accommodate any larger vehicles.
Another design restriction related to the material used to construct the engine. Porsche wanted to use aluminum, but the American company was only equipped to cast and machine iron. Both engines were just over three litres which, like Volkswagen, was a relatively slow large engine which ran warm.
The car was extensively tested in Europe during 1954 and then shipped to the U.S. Although completely evaluated by Studebaker, their interest in this family sedan had already waned. The engines performed similarly, although the air-cooled engine was noisier. Studebaker’s report was approved by John Z. DeLorean, head of Advanced Engineering. DeLorean’s report essentially concluded with skepticism of anything not made in America.
Packard and Studebaker had merged in 1954, but that was not enough to save the company. The Type 542 cars and spare engines were scrapped in 1964, shortly after Studebaker stopped building cars in America. This Porsche design would probably not have been enough to save the company, but the money earned really helped Porsche in its early days.
Fun Facts. Studebakers were built in Walkerville, Ontario during the thirties to gain advantages exporting into Commonwealth countries. From 1948 to 1966 Studebakers were built in an old anti-aircraft plant in Hamilton, Ontario. Production of Studebaker ended in the US in 1963. Studebaker was the importer for Volkswagen and Mercedes Benz for a few years. This photo certainly shows Mercedes’ influence on Studebaker in the late fifties into the sixties.
After leaving Studebaker, Delorean went to Pontiac where he was involved in creating the Pontiac GTO, one of the earliest muscle cars. After striking out on his own he attempted to build his own car in Ireland using a lot of public funds. That project ended rather messily. The Delorean car is mainly known for its stainless-steel body and for starring, along with Michael J. Fox, in Back to the Future. </>
