Studebaker Champion

The Studebaker Champion was the junior model of the Studebaker Corporation of South Bend, Indiana, built from the 1939 model year until 1958. It was designed from a clean sheet around the idea that weight is the enemy, which made it one of the lightest cars of its day, and its low price, durable straight-six engine and Raymond Loewy styling made it one of the best-selling Studebakers. Champions won Mobilgas economy runs and were prized when fuel was rationed during the Second World War, and the same engine powered the M29 Weasel tracked carrier. The nameplate passed through five generations, from the streamlined 1939 car and the 1947 postwar redesign to the 1953 Loewy coupes, the Conestoga wagon and, in 1957, the stripped-down Scotsman. It gave way to the Lark for 1959.