Copper Wink
Retro Cars|March 2017

When Kicker Audio decide to build a showcase for their latest speakers, they don’t mess about. This 1950 Studebaker is testament to the passion of a bunch of enthusiasts who didn’t want to just screw some speakers into yet another minivan…

Daniel Bevis
Copper Wink

The concept of the Cyclops is one of the more tricky-to grasp ideas from Greek mythology. Sure, okay, there were a lot of mad creatures running about the place and there’s no reason why we shouldn’t accept a race of primordial giants with a single eye in the centre of their foreheads, it’s no more or less bonkers than, say, the troops of a besieged city not immediately seeing through the ‘generosity’ of being gifted a colossal wooden horse and just gamely wheeling it in through the gates. No, the real problem with the Cyclops is that paintings of them show humanoid faces which have the bone structure to accommodate two eyes, and yet we’re to believe they’ve inexplicably evolved backwards to develop a vision scope that has no depth perception. I mean, come on.

Nevertheless, it’s this peculiar aesthetic that Studebaker called upon when starting up their Champion model back in 1950, and you have to agree that it works. That central eye (which is a grille, rather than a headlight) certainly gives it character.

The 1950 Champion is an unusual creation anyway, with or without the Cyclops eye; the post-war third-gen model was available as a four-door saloon, station wagon or convertible, but Studebaker also saw fit to hand the crayons over to Raymond Loewy Associates so that celebrated designer Virgil Exner could have a go at reimagining the car as a rakish two-door coupé. What emerged, the Champion Starlight Coupé, wowed the public with a widescreen wraparound rear window, that iconic Cyclops styling, and a bootlid so comically long that contemporary wags remarked that they couldn’t tell which way it was supposed to be going. But this unique styling made the Champion Starlight look super-futuristic – no-one ever shook up the establishment by playing it safe.

Esta historia es de la edición March 2017 de Retro Cars.

Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.

Esta historia es de la edición March 2017 de Retro Cars.

Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.

MÁS HISTORIAS DE RETRO CARSVer todo
The Incredible ULK
Retro Cars

The Incredible ULK

It had turned green, had an appropriate number plate and did something quite remarkable - what else were we going to call the new Retro Cars project car?

time-read
5 minutos  |
Winter 2019
They Rebadged It, You Fool!
Retro Cars

They Rebadged It, You Fool!

40 years ago, the UK waited with baited breath for the ‘British Car to Beat the World’. 20 years ago, Rover dealers were still trying to boot the last ones out of their showrooms. Ahead of its 40th birthday, we put the first and last Metros head-to-head

time-read
10+ minutos  |
Winter 2019
One Saved - On To The Next…
Retro Cars

One Saved - On To The Next…

After last month’s mechanical woes, we’ve finally finished our MG ZS project car. Here’s our final instalment, followed by an all-new project

time-read
3 minutos  |
Winter 2019
Reverting To Type
Retro Cars

Reverting To Type

The S-TYPE was a huge car for Jaguar; the first model developed from the ground-up under Ford’s stewardship and its first mid-size executive car since the Mk2. Two decades on, how does it fare as a classic?

time-read
8 minutos  |
Winter 2019
Knightsbridge Or Kensington?
Retro Cars

Knightsbridge Or Kensington?

Tempted by the Metro’s swansong? Here are two virtually unused examples for sale at the same dealership

time-read
2 minutos  |
Winter 2019
360' Kickflip
Retro Cars

360' Kickflip

This BMW E30 may appear relatively unassuming, but to the trained eye there are clues that all is not as it seems. No-one, however, will be expecting the self-styled 360i’s fi repower!

time-read
6 minutos  |
March 2017
Copper Wink
Retro Cars

Copper Wink

When Kicker Audio decide to build a showcase for their latest speakers, they don’t mess about. This 1950 Studebaker is testament to the passion of a bunch of enthusiasts who didn’t want to just screw some speakers into yet another minivan…

time-read
5 minutos  |
March 2017
Ade's Volvo 850
Retro Cars

Ade's Volvo 850

This month sees Ade sorting out up his Volvo with an awesome Kenwood headunit.

time-read
3 minutos  |
March 2017
Take Five
Retro Cars

Take Five

Carlo de Grundt’s fifth-generation Skyline might not have a GT-R badge, but that doesn’t stop it from looking every bit as awesome as its ‘Hakosuka’ forefather...

time-read
7 minutos  |
May 2017
Coupé De Grâce
Retro Cars

Coupé De Grâce

Escobar’s '90s Civic coupé hides many surprises, each one developed to​ Edenilson deliver a killer blow…

time-read
7 minutos  |
May 2017