c.1915 Studebaker Two-Seater Roadster

192ci L-Head Inline 4-Cylinder Motor
Holley Carburetor
30bhp
3-Speed Transmission
Leaf Spring Suspension
2-Wheel Mechanical Brakes

*Sporting roadster
*In the collection for more than 30 years
*Sure to provide exhilarating driving

THE STUDEBAKER

Wagon makers since the middle of the 19th Century, the Studebaker brothers of South Bend, Indiana had been active in commercial vehicle manufacture long before the arrival of the 'horseless carriage'. Having made a fortune out of horse-drawn transportation, the Studebaker Brothers Manufacturing Company built the first of its own automobiles - an 'electric' designed by Thomas Alva Edison - in 1902 and its first gasoline-powered motor car - an 8hp twin - late in 1903. In 1904 a twin-cylinder 16hp chain-driven model was added, followed in 1905 by a 20hp 'four' with shaft drive, both of which used chassis supplied by A L Garford of Elyria, Ohio; indeed, up to 1911 cars were marketed under the 'Studebaker-Garford' name. In 1908 Studebaker commenced an association with the E-M-F company, whose cars it marketed, eventually taking over the Detroit-based manufacturer in 1910 to form the Studebaker Corporation on January 1st 1911, at which time the link with Garford was broken. By this time the range consisted of a brace of fours – the Models G-8 and G-10 – of 40 and 30 horsepower respectively. Studebaker's big news for 1913 was the arrival of its first six-cylinder automobile - the Model E – recognized by historians as the first mass-produced 'six' to have its cylinders cast en bloc. By this time the four-cylinder engine displaced 192.4ci (3,154cc) and produced around 30 horsepower.

THE MOTORCAR OFFERED

The Studebaker presented here has been configured in the guise that any passer by would imagine every car to have looked like in this era, a spartan roadster or raceabout in the term created by the iconic Mercer. The answer is that not many actually did, they were far fewer than might be imagined, but nonetheless nothing beats the power to weight ratio of a stripped-down sporting machine like this which maximizes every cubic inch.

Frank Spain picked this Studebaker up at a Scottsdale Auction in 1986 according to information on file, it is not known where it had been consigned from or any previous history. Taken on face value, when returned to the road it should certainly be a fun ride.