CarBrandLogos archive · Studebaker · 1926

StudebakerPresident

Studebaker's straight-eight flagship, and a record-setter at speed and distance.

Photo: Greg Gjerdingen from Willmar, USA · CC BY 2.0

The story

A defining chapter in Studebaker history.

Explore the ideas, engineering and context that shaped the Studebaker President, then continue into its specifications and place in the marque's lineage.

Studebaker-president-coupe-convertible-1932

Origins

The President name appeared in 1926 at the top of Studebaker's range, replacing the Big Six, and from 1928 it carried a straight-eight engine that made it one of the more capable American cars of its class. It was expensive, well-trimmed and aimed at buyers who might otherwise have gone to Buick or Packard.

Studebaker-president-coupe-convertible-1932 · Photo shot by Derek Jensen (Tysto) · Public domain

1931 Studebaker President four seasons roadster

Design and engineering

Studebaker proved the point in public. Presidents were run at high average speeds over enormous distances on board tracks and at Atlantic City, setting endurance records that the company advertised heavily, on the reasonable argument that a car which can hold a high speed for days is unlikely to trouble an ordinary owner.

1931 Studebaker President four seasons roadster · Stephen Foskett (Wikipedia User: sfoskett) · CC BY-SA 3.0

In production

The Depression and the company's 1933 receivership hurt the top of the range badly, and the President was dropped after 1942. It returned from 1955 to 1958 as a V8-powered flagship in a very different market, by which time Studebaker's problems were structural and no single model was going to fix them.

Studebaker National Museum May 2014 070 · Michael Barera · CC BY-SA 4.0

At a glance