Blast from the past: Studebaker Light Six tourer tested in London

Having first been published in 1895 as The Autocar, the publication is touted as the world's oldest motoring magazine. It’s tested most models that have ever been produced – so we decided to revisit one such write-up from those earlier years, of a 1922 Studebaker Light Six tourer.

The luxury manufacturer, which hailed from Indiana, USA, and had earned a reputation for quality and reliability, started out with all-electric vehicle in 1902. Studebaker then introduced a petrol model in 1904. The Autocar took charge of the Light Six for a week in February 1922, billing it as “a car in which practical points for the owner-driver are emphasised”.

The five-seater represented remarkably good value against rivals, as it featured a strong-performing 3,396cc 23.5hp six-cylinder engine – hence the name – and cost around £500. Today that equates to around £25,630, which would buy a new Audi A4. The Light Six impressed the road testers from the start: “Its road qualities are entirely in keeping with its up-to-date design and specification.”

They went on: “The engine is the heart of a car, and it is in the possession of a sound heart that the Studebaker excels.” They reported that the motor was “remarkably silky”, “silent” and “flexible to a wonderful degree”, with “vibration-less qualities”.

In London traffic the controls were found to be easy to use, while the engine was “content to tick over in top gear even below normal walking pace with no sign of distress”. Long-distance performance was excellent, and hill-climbing a joy, with a light, well positioned clutch that had no tendency to slip.

The road test’s wintery conditions allowed the drivers to experience the engine’s starting mechanism, ease and speed of warming up, and battery efficiency, under the most severe conditions, and in these the Studebaker excelled.

Of the Light Six’s brakes, the magazine reported: “Though of a popular type in the States, they are not common on British cars. The hand brake is internal expanding, and the foot brake external contracting. In use, they are extremely efficient, and come into action progressively and smoothly.”