1932 Rockne Six Convertible Sedan

Three Studebaker men left Germany in 1736 for a better life. And nearly two centuries later, this Studebaker Rockne rolled off the Piquet Avenue assembly line in Detroit. In between, their descendants settled in South Bend, IN where, beginning in the 1850s, they built a prosperous wagon-making business. And, by 1904 the Studebakers were making cars.

In 1930, Willys-Overland optimistically commissioned the design of a new car, but soon facing financial ruin, they couldn't fund the car. So, the two independent engineers who'd designed it went on the road to sell their design. All it took was a trip to South Bend, a prototype demo, and Studebaker bought it on the spot. The Rockne's two-year run consisted of the '65' and '75' Series.

This car, a '65,' was based on the designs of those two engineers. It was named after famed Notre Dame coach, Knute Rockne, a genuine All-American legend as were his Fighting Irish whom he'd coached for 13 peerless seasons right there in South Bend. The Rockne debuted in late 1931 but Knute Rockne never saw it. He died in a plane crash the previous March.

The current owner's grandfather had been a Studebaker Vice President in the 1930s. He'd bought his daughter a 1932 Rockne for college. Over the years she often commented how nice it would be to find a car just like that college car. After years of searching, he found this one in 2012. It is one of only seven roadsters from 1932 known to still exist.