1953 Studebaker Land Speed Racer

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This 1953 Studebaker Coupe was resting on the Sanchez's family California used car lot when it was selected by Belmont Sanchez to become a Bonneville racer. After receiving extensive modifications, the Studebaker became the first car of its type to exceed 200 mph. It would be driven by many different drivers in many land speed record attempts.

Neil Thompson became the car's sole owner in 1962 and continued to develop the car until 1963 when the car crashed at 242 mph due to a blown tire. Using another 1953 Studebaker bodyshell, Thompson built a new racer retaining the proven mechanical components of the previous car. The list included the chassis, scatter shield, LaSalle transmission, Sanchez-devised cooling system, both doors and deck lid, belly pan, steering column, steering wheel, and roll bar. Hinged and removable rear quarter panels were added to accommodate quick rear-tire changes.

With the new Studebaker racer, Thompson returned to Bonneville in 1965, where he would dominate several SCTA classifications and set new speed records through 1972 on nitro-methane only. In 1966, the car reached 265.131 mph at Bonneville. Thompson competed in both A/ and C/Competition Coupe classes and would emerge as the fastest coupe that year.

This Studebaker was the cover car for the official Bonneville event program in 1967 and was featured in the November 1968 edition of Rod & Custom and the November 1970 issue of Hot Rod magazine.

By 1970, a C3 Corvette tilt nose had been installed, and the coupe wore new paint. In this guise, the car would be photographed for a feature in the February 1971 issue of Hi-Performance Cars magazine.

The car was placed into storage during the early 2000s with friend George Callaway, and it would remain in Mr. Thompson's ownership until his passing in 2012. The car came into the care of its current owner shortly thereafter (albeit with persistent communication with Mr. Callaway).

The car has been given an extensive mechanical rebuild under the current ownership, featuring the original 354 cid Chrysler Firepower Hemi V-8 (bored to 359 cid), GMC 6-71 supercharger, and Enderle 'Barn Door' fuel-injection system. It has a Muncie four-speed manual gearbox, independent front suspension, rear swing axles, and a Halibrand 'quick-change' rear axle located by torsion bars.

In 2023, this Studebaker was offered for sale at the Gooding & Company auction in Pebble Beach, California.

By Daniel Vaughan | Dec 2023