Discontinued in 1967, the Studebaker brand went into the history books more than five decades ago, but it left quite a few cool cars behind. The Avanti, which was America’s fastest production car at its debut, is one of them. The Super Lark, the country’s first high-performance compact, is also worth mentioning, as is the Hawk series.
But while some Studebakers get a lot of attention in the classic car market, others have been largely forgotten. One such nameplate is the Commander, which Studebaker introduced in 1927. Discontinued in 1935, the Commander returned in 1937 and remained in showrooms until 1942. Studebaker revived the nameplate once again in 1947, keeping it in production until 1966.
The Commander went through numerous redesigns, many of which shared styling cues with other Studebaker models. The early 1950s version is particularly striking thanks to its three-point front-end styling, popularly known as the “bullet-nose.” But the Commander also has a forgotten achievement to brag about.
Back in 1928, three completely stock Commanders set several speed records at the Atlantic City Speedway, beating the much more expensive Auburn Speedster in the process. But I’m not here to talk about that. I just want to introduce you to one of the rarest Commanders ever built: the 1941 Sedan Coupe.
The company’s mid-range model at the time, the Commander was restyled in 1940 to match the newly-introduced Champion. In 1941, the nameplate was upgraded again and received two significant innovations. It featured a one-piece curved windshield and it didn’t have running boards.
The two-door Sedan Coupe benefited the most from these changes, as it became one of the most streamlined vehicles of the era. The carefully place chrome trim and the dark-colored stripe running just below the beltline also gave it a unique and decidedly stylish look.
Unfortunately, the coupe was exactly popular at the time. While Studebaker sold almost 134,000 in 1941, its best year since 1928, only 2,350 of them were Commander Sedan Coupes. And according to Hemmings, that number also includes a very short 1942 production run, so the actual figure is lower than that.
Like most vehicles built right before the U.S. entered World War II, early 1940s Studebakers are hard to find in 2022. That’s mostly because many of them were scrapped, abandoned, or left to rot away in barns. And many of those that survived are either in poor shape or have been restomoded.
The 1941 Sedan Coupe is no exception, as only a few of them are still known to exist. It’s the kind of classic that many of us will never get to see in the metal. But if you can settle with a virtual tour of such a car, the red example you’re about to see below might just be the finest one in existence.
Restored a few years ago, this Commander looks perfect inside and out and still sports its original 226-cubic-inch (3.7-liter) L-head straight-six under the hood. It’s something you don’t see every day, so go ahead and hit the play button to check out a rare and stylish 1940s coupe.