• Entered from the estate of the late Peter Macey • A rare South African-market example supplied new in right-hand drive form • Fitted with a 259ci V8 power unit mated to a manual gearbox • Understood to have been imported into Britain in 1996 As Studebaker battled to compete with Detroit’s “Big Three,” the company had to rely on clever engineering rather than costly redevelopment.

Their design team certainly came up trumps, however, when they were looking to update their pick-up range for 1960.

The new model, the Champ, combined their proven truck chassis with the front half of the successful Lark passenger car, thus creating one of the most distinctive pickups of its era whilst keeping production costs down.

For 1961, the Champ benefited from further updates, including the smooth-sided “Spaceside” load bed and an overhead-valve six-cylinder engine, which helped to bring it up to modern standards whilst remaining one of the most affordable pickups on the American market.

The Champ...