Latest news with #BrooksStevens
Yahoo
31-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
The 1962 Excalibur RS Roadster in Photos
More from Robb Report Ferrari Will Raise the U.S. Prices of Some Models by 10% to Offset Tariffs Aston Martin's New Vanquish Volante Is the World's Fastest Front-Engine Convertible Driving the Most Powerful Porsche Boxster Ever Is Like Being Strapped to a Firework Best of Robb Report The 2024 Chevy C8 Corvette: Everything We Know About the Powerful Mid-Engine Beast The World's Best Superyacht Shipyards The ABCs of Chartering a Yacht Click here to read the full article. The one-of-a-kind 1962 Excalibur RS Roadster crosses the auction block through Mecum on May 16. Penned by designer Brooks Stevens around the middle of last century, the car didn't come to fruition until 2006. Under the power-operated hood is a 5.7-liter GM V-8 crate engine. The Excalibur RS Roadster comprises a steel-tube space-frame chassis built by Chuck Rahn, dressed in hand-formed aluminum bodywork. The hood scoops are inspired from those on the Ford GT40 race car. According to the lot description from Mecum Auctions, the car's power scissor doors come from a Lamborghini Murciélago. Other features of the car include a polycarbonate windshield and a power-operated hood and decklid. Though industrial designer Brooks Stevens was responsible for conceiving approximately 3,000 products during the course of his career, this piece of automotive exotica, while based on a concept he penned a few decades previously, was commissioned to be built by his friend, Bob Shaw, as a tribute. At a time when the market seems to be in a state of transition between demand for classic automobiles from the middle of last century and growing interest in cars from the 1990s and up, the Excalibur RS Roadster combines elements of both.
Yahoo
24-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Have You Ever Heard of the Excalibur RS Roadster?
Read the full story on Modern Car Collector A unique automotive treasure, the 1962 Excalibur RS Roadster, inspired by legendary American designer Brooks Stevens, will cross the auction block at Mecum Auctions for the first time on May 16, providing a rare chance for collectors to own this one-of-a-kind creation. Originally envisioned by Stevens, renowned for designing iconic vehicles like the Jeep Wagoneer and the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile, the Excalibur RS Roadster project started in the early 1990s. It was completed after Stevens' death in 1995 under the careful supervision of his close friend, Robert Shaw, whose initials "RS" mark the car's designation. Unlike any other Excalibur, the RS Roadster is built upon a specially developed tubular steel spaceframe chassis crafted by specialist Chuck Rahn. Its sleek, handcrafted aluminum bodywork was influenced by Stevens' earlier Excalibur Hawk Coupe from 1961, but with distinctive modern touches. These include Lamborghini Murcielago-inspired scissor doors, power-operated hood and decklid, and a low-profile polycarbonate windshield. Finished in striking Mercedes-Benz Mystic Blue metallic paint, accented with Stevens' signature red, white, and blue theme, the Excalibur RS Roadster blends classic automotive artistry with contemporary innovation. Inside, occupants are greeted with engine-turned aluminum panels, fiberglass moldings trimmed in premium leather, and fixed bucket seats, capturing the spirit of 1960s automotive luxury infused with modern comfort. Under the hood resides a robust 5.7-liter GM V8 crate engine enhanced by Edelbrock fuel injection and custom tubular exhaust headers. A GM 700R4 automatic transmission delivers power smoothly to the rear wheels. Performance upgrades include Wilwood disc brakes, power-assisted rack-and-pinion steering, and a Halibrand quick-change rear axle, making this bespoke vehicle as capable on the road as it is stunning to behold. The Excalibur RS Roadster is expected to attract significant interest from collectors, reflecting both its unique design pedigree and its status as the final automotive project associated with Brooks Stevens. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter
Yahoo
24-02-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
The Rise And Fall Of Studebaker: What Went Wrong?
Even the gorgeous, if a bit esoteric, design work of American greats Virgil Exner, Brooks Stevens and Raymond Loewy couldn't save Studebaker from its slow-but-inevitable post-WWII collapse. The South Bend, Indiana-based manufacturer started life as a horse-drawn coachbuilder in 1852, and just 114 years later it completely disappeared from the face of American manufacturing. With a focus on quality, durability, and reliability, Studebaker was once a major player in the U.S. automotive industry. It had a history of building sharp designs and powerful engines, but as a smaller independent brand it just couldn't keep pace with the development curve and economies of scale that companies like Ford and General Motors enjoyed. Where the Big Three could make incremental annual improvements on its designs and powertrains, Studebaker had to take big swings on design in order to make its outdated chassis and powerplants appealing. Studebaker was heavily subsidized by military contracts during WWII, building aircraft engines and trucks that helped propel the Allies to victory. The company was pretty forward thinking, and used some of those wartime financial gains to prepare for a world after the war ended. Studebaker made major concessions with its unionized workforce to prevent the strikes that plagued the Big Three in the post-war era, and invested heavily in its 1947 lineup. The company shouted about the new lineup in advertisements reading "First by far with a post-war car" pushing the new Starlight coupe. Read more: These Are The Dumbest Car Myths Despite a successful re-launch after World War II, Studebaker quickly found itself swallowed up by the traction that Big Three brands found. Studebaker sold around 400,000 vehicles in 1950, riding the wave of post-war American largesse and attractive new Champion and Commander designs. Once Ford, GM, and Chrysler got back on their feet and replaced aging designs with new post-war machines, Studebaker's advantage evaporated. By 1954 the company's sales declined to just 100,000 units and suffered a $26 million deficit. Henry Ford "The Deuce" and his beancounter Whiz Kids changed the world of automotive manufacturing and kicked off a pricing war between the Blue Oval and the General in the mid 1950s, a war that Studebaker just couldn't fight. A merger was proposed between Studebaker, Packard, Hudson, and Nash to help all four of the smaller American automakers weather the storm, but the details couldn't be hammered out. Hudson and Nash merged on their own to become American Motors Corporation, while Studebaker and Packard struck a deal to join together. Then-UAW representative Lester Fox likened the merger to "two drunks trying to help each other across the street." By the late 1950s the company was in dire straits with poor quality control, an aging lineup, and the highest paid workforce in the industry. While Ford and GM were more than happy to weather a UAW strike, Studebaker continued paying its workers better and providing more benefits to prevent costly downtime and product delays. Unfortunately, this meant that Studebaker simply could not price its cars any lower than it already had, and was losing what little market share it owned to cheaper Big Three machines. By 1958 the combined Studebaker-Packard company produced just 56,920 units. In 1961 the company's new President, Sherwood Egbert, sought to reinvent the company with an increased focus on quality and design. He ordered the company to spend millions of dollars it didn't have to remodel its factories and gave Brooks Stevens just six months to facelift the company's compact and midsized Lark and Hawk models. Egbert's biggest swing, however, was investing in a new high-performance halo car for the brand. Egbert hired designer Raymond Loewy and gave him just six weeks and total autonomy to develop a work of art. That's how the now-iconic Studebaker Avanti was born. A fiberglass-bodied V8-powered ground-pounding street machine that looked exactly as futuristic as it should. Once the design had been finalized, it was up to the engineering team to make it a functional car. Egbert allegedly told engineering chief Gene Hardig that the Avanti "must be tops in speed, braking, handling, safety features, and general innovation—and please don't spend any money." Studebaker/Packard had heavily invested in diversification through the 1950s and owned the Paxton supercharger company, so it offered an incredible 300-horsepower supercharged version of the Avanti. It was also the first mainstream American car to be fitted with disc brakes. This was a seriously powerful car for the early 1960s, and practically invented the concept of American Grand Touring. Ten prototypes were built for 1962 ahead of the Avanti's production run in 1963. Studebaker gave Avantis to Jimmy Dean, Dick Van Dyke, Johnny Carson, and Frank Sinatra in an effort to influence the public on the car's cool appeal. Unfortunately the big gamble came up bust for Studebaker. A lengthy labor strike in 1962 set the company on the back foot, and continued quality concerns did the rest of the work. The Avanti used advanced fiberglass manufacturing procedures that Studebaker workers just weren't prepared for. The designers didn't account for the components shrinking during the curing process, and as a result nothing fit together right, and the rear windows developed a nasty habit of popping out at speed. Egbert was removed as President of the company in December of 1963 after it became obvious that initial sales of 1964 models was falling short of expectations. In a last gasp effort to keep the company afloat, the board closed the company's aging South Bend plant with the final Larks and Hawks produced on December 20 and the final Avanti, a high-performance R3 model, produced on December 26. The facility continued making postal vans until early 1964 to fulfill its government contracts. The company's limited production capacity was consolidated to its last remaining facility, the Hamilton, Ontario plant. New president Gordon Grundy oversaw the operations of the company in its death throes. Avanti tooling was sold off and continued as its own brand for several decades. The design of the company's Champ truck were sold off to Kaiser Jeep, as well as the South Bend plant, where Kaiser Jeep built military vehicles for a time. For 1965 Studebaker produced just shy of 20,000 automobiles, and wasn't anywhere near break even. Grundy flew to Japan that year to discuss selling imported Nissan Cedric and Toyota Century models as Studebakers with help from then-former United States Vice President Richard Milhouse Nixon. Toyota got wind that it was Studebaker's second choice and backed out of negotiations with Grundy, which made Nissan aware that Grundy had talked to Toyota and also ended the relationship prematurely out of disgust. The board decided that it couldn't reach profitability in an appropriate timeline, and declined to invest more in the automobile business. Studebaker exited the automobile business altogether in March of 1966. By that point the company's engine foundry had ceased operations, and when it ran out of its own engines, purchased a few General Motors engines to finish out production until dealer contracts were fulfilled. By May of the following year Studebaker and its diversified holdings (which by then included an airline, a refrigerator manufacturer, STP chemicals, and a missile division) were merged with Wagner Electric, and the conglomerate later merged again with Worthington in November of the same year. Once a major player in the American auto industry, Studebaker died a slow and sad death, crushed under the weight of manufacturing powerhouses Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler. Read the original article on Jalopnik.
