Studebaker beats Corvette by 18 years with split window design.

[Studebaker Wheel]

In '63 Corvette introduced its stylish split window fastback design. Again Studebaker was way ahead of that game as this 1945 photo shows. The govt. forbade the car companies from working on car styling during the war. However since Raymond Loewy and Associates was an independent contractor they were not constrained by the edict. That is how the company beat the competition by over two years with all new styling introduced in June of 1946. While this fast back design did not make the cut many of the '47 design elements are obvious. Makes one wonder how much a few years of refinement would have improved this overall concept. I am thinking the 5-passenger coupe (called the Starlight starting in '49) was the car that won out insofar as a production vehicle is concerned. Can also see where there may have been some production issues with the split window design.

[DEEPNHOCK]

Volkswagon did it from 1939 to 1953...

[56H-Y6]

Hi Richard

The major factor that limited the size of curved or "bent" glass in 1945, which required the division bar, was the technology to do so on a volume production basis without high scrap rates was still in development. While the first one piece, curved glass windshields were fitted to the 1934-37 Chrysler Custom Imperial Model CW, those were extremely low production custom-built cars. As we know, Studebaker was next with the 1941-42 Commander and President Sedan-Coupes. One wonders how costly and troublesome windshields those were to produce.

Industry interest in curved glass applications was boosted by stylists explorations of designs seen on wartime fighters and jet plane cockpit canopies, though those were plexiglass. Being the latest, most progressive developments were seen as the future direction for automotive 'greenhouse' designs, had even begun appearing on blue-sky renderings in the 1930's. Something generally overlooked of those 'greenhouse' designs was they acted as exactly that: heated the interior tremendously in bright sunshine. They were intended to be accompanied by improved ventilation-air conditioning systems to overcome that undesirable affect. Even Raymond Loewy himself must have discovered that drawback with his Derham-customized Lincoln Continental coupes with their plexiglass forward canopies. Affective, relatively efficient automotive air conditioning was still most of a decade in the future.

By the time Chevrolet presented the '63 Corvette Stingray 'split window' coupe, the curve glass technology had caught up to stylists wildest imaginings. While having that unique feature purely for style, it was functionally a no-go because it blocked the rear view mirror vision, was deleted for the 1964 models just for that reason.

Steve

[raprice]

Nice work Richard. I see what you mean regarding the number design elements that made it into the '47 Studes. However, they made the right decision about what became the Starlight Coupe. That design still blows me away. I'd love to own one.
Rog

[63 R2 Hawk]

It is interesting to note that the '63 Corvette split window coupe wasn't all that well received, in fact there was at least one company that specialized in converting the split window coupes into the non-split '64 rear windows. Rearward visibility was terrible and considered dangerous by those who drove the '63 coupes. Personally, I always thought they looked pretty cool!!

[SScopelli]

Ford in 39

[53k]

How about '37 Dictator coupes (and probably a lot of other vintage cars)?

[63t-cab]

Might be getting off Track with split rear Windows,by comparing them to the original post. the advanced Fastback with large curves is far from " basically flat Glass " with a divider between them - not any much different from split Wind Shields of the Day. I wonder how the Avanti would look with a split rear Window.

In '63 Corvette introduced its stylish split window fastback design. Again Studebaker was way ahead of that game as this 1945 photo shows. The govt. forbade the car companies from working on car styling during the war. However since Raymond Loewy and Associates was an independent contractor they were not constrained by the edict. That is how the company beat the competition by over two years with all new styling introduced in June of 1946. While this fast back design did not make the cut many of the '47 design elements are obvious. Makes one wonder how much a few years of refinement would have improved this overall concept. I am thinking the 5-passenger coupe (called the Starlight starting in '49) was the car that won out insofar as a production vehicle is concerned. Can also see where there may have been some production issues with the split window design.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]53279[/ATTACH]

[t walgamuth]

Some alphas had it but not sure what year.....would have been the fifties though.

[8E45E]

Some alphas had it but not sure what year.....would have been the fifties though.

Look on the cover of this month's Sports Car Market magazine!!

As well, Tatra 603 used the same split rear window design.

Craig

[t walgamuth]

Yes. That is the one I was thinking of....astonishing car.

[Studebaker Wheel]

Believe most of you missed the point in re to the 1945 prototype. I hope I am not throwing any cold water on those posting above but the unique feature about the 1945 Studebaker prototype is the large panels of curved glass. That and the fast back design makes it totally different than the Ford coupe pictured above, the Volkswagen and even the 1936-37 Studebakers that all had flat glass and relatively small glass panels at that. Split windows were not that uncommon to some cars in the 40's and 50's but the Studebaker prototype shown in my original post was really nothing like those aforementioned vehicles. For its time, in the mid 1940s, nothing comparable existed and in fact it didn't until the Corvette came out 18 years later

[clonelark]

Here is a pic of a 54 & 55 Alpha Romeo I have on my computer

[t walgamuth]

Those even put George Barris to shame!

May George RIP.