Now here’s an unlikely partnership:  In 1954, Porsche produced a new prototype car design for Studebaker. While the project didn’t go anywhere, it’s definitely worth a closer look. 

The improbable partnership between Studebaker and Porsche reportedly began through a mutual associate, famed New York automobile importer Max Hoffman. According to the preeminent auto historian Karl Ludvigsen, it was Hoffman who suggested that Studebaker could use Dr. Ferdinand Porsche’s vehicle design and development expertise. The first car Porsche presented to Studebaker in 1952, essentially a stretched four-door version of the production rear-engine Porsche called the Type 530, failed to dazzle the South Bend managers. But they were impressed enough with Porsche and his staff to award the German firm a lucrative contract to develop a new prototype vehicle from a fresh sheet of paper.

The car that resulted, known to Porsche as the Type 542 and designated by Studebaker as the Z-87, was a more conventional front-engine, rear-drive sedan with conservative, Euro-centric exterior styling, Studebaker-like proportions, and an 111-inch wheelbase. Unlike every other Studebaker in history, the 542 was of unit body-frame construction and boasted independent suspension both front and rear. However, per the client’s request a number of Studebaker  production components were used, including the hydraulic drum brakes, steering gear, electrical system, and Warner three-speed overdrive transmission. Three prototype cars were assembled, reportedly.

Easily the most unconventional element in the 542 project was its engine, a wide-angled 120-degree V6 (above) that displaced 186 cubic inches and ultimately produced 106 hp. Two versions were developed: air-cooled (luftgekühlt) and water-cooled (wassergekühlt). Eventually the water-cooled engine won out as it produced slightly more power and was less costly to manufacture. Of course, the entire program, radical engine included, was conducted far from the public eye. It was never divulged until 1974 when Ludvigsen told the story in a Special Interest Autos article, nearly a decade after Studebaker abandoned the car business.

The Type 542/Z-87 was presented to Studebaker management in the autumn of 1954, but by that time the Indiana automaker’s priorities had shifted dramatically. There was no longer any funding to invest in radical new vehicle designs, and all future Studebaker products from that point would be reworks of existing platforms. On October 1, 1954, Studebaker was acquired by the Packard Motor Car Company and the new enterprise was named Studebaker-Packard. In 1956, S-P engineers gave the 542 program a once-over but declined to move forward. Reportedly, the three prototype cars and all their related components were eventually destroyed.