Intended to serve as a junior model, the Champion set the course for the Studebaker Corporation for years to come. 

By the late 1930s, Studebaker was hardly a stranger to the low-priced field. The South Bend, Indiana automaker had previously explored the lower rungs of the market with the 1926-30 Erskine and the 1932-33 Rockne (see our feature on the Rockne here). However, these vehicles weren’t Studebakers, technically, but companion brands that stood apart from the company’s main product: Larger, higher-priced cars of the Olds/Buick class that carried the imposing names Dictator, Commander, and President, but unfortunately, they didn’t sell all that well.

In constrast, when the Champion was introduced in mid-1939, it proudly wore Studebaker badges and was marketed right alongside the big senior models. It was a real Studebaker, if you will. And with pricing that began at just $660, the Champion gave a big boost to Studebaker sales, pushing the company into the top 10 in production volume for the first time in nearly a decade.

Constructed on an X-braced ladder chassis with a wheelbase of 110 inches, the Champion wasn’t a big car or a small car, exactly. It was considerably larger than, say,  the compact ’39 Willys, but slightly smaller than a Ford V-8 or Chevy. So maybe we could call it just right. Chief engineer Roy Cole, who placed extra value in lightness and efficiency, essentially designed the vehicle around a new L-head six engine that  displaced 164.3 cubic inches and initially produced 78 hp. The engine design proved to be an evergreen for the company, powering numerous Studebaker products for a few more decades.

Other value-adding Champion features included four-wheel hydraulic brakes, Houdaille double-acting shocks, and an improved version of Studebaker’s Planar independent front suspension. Engineered by Delmar G. “Barney” Roos of later Willys Jeep fame, the Planar system employed a transverse leaf spring that doubled as the lower lateral locating link.

One area where Studebaker dodged a tradtional pitfall of the bargain-priced field was in offering an attractive, nicely appointed cabin than included modern features like column shift and vent windows. The clean and classic exterior styling was provided by Raymond Loewy and Associates, with Loewy’s product chief Clare Hodgman reportedly performing the actual design work. Four body styles were offered: two-and-four passenger coupes, a two-door Club Sedan aka coach, and a four-door Cruising Sedan, all in both standard and DeLuxe trim levels. (Club Sedan and Cruising Sedan shown on the transporter below.)

The Champion not only gave a much-need boost to Studebaker’s sales volume, it provided the automaker with a familiar and popular model name for more than a decade—all the way through 1957, in fact. And meanwhile, when the Studebaker product line was completely overhauled for 1947, the new package was based not on the big senior Studebakers, but largely on the more modern and efficient Champion platform. So it was that the ’39 Champion helped to steer the course for Studebaker products for many years to come.