Power would be poor with so much wind resistance to forward motion - completely negating the benefits of the concept model's Stude 289 V8.
Yes; its designer seems to have had a basic lack of understanding of aerodynamics...
To Studebaker's credit, two things to bear in mind:
First, remember though, even the greatest Formula 1 cars of the time didn't give much of a nod to aerodynamics. Any 'aerodynamic' styling of the day generally resulted in making edges look rounded and windswept - in other words, making things 'look' fast. While the styling thought processes of the day may have helped things somewhat, the effect was inadvertant at best.
We now know that the rounded egg shapes of 1950's and 1960's Formula and LeMans cars were actually detrimental to their performance at speed. The Alfa Disco Volante was a classic case in point in that the prototypes tended to lift off the ground at high speeds. The 1968 Dodge Charger was redesigned with the flying buttress C-pillars, intending to be dominating on the NASCAR tracks of the day. In reality, the channeled backlight resulted in a vacuum at the base of the trunklid, causing the cars to feel very unsettled at high speeds. By 1969 Dodge had engineered the Charger 500 to combat those problems - by getting rid of the recessed window entirely.
Second, by late 1963, Studebaker's finances were absolutely dire. The chief stylist, Randall Faurot, had long succeeded at making something interesting while reducing manufacturing costs at the same time. Just a month after this design was put together, Studebaker packed up what was left of its operation and moved to Canada. Studebaker likely felt that producing a utility cost with minimal costs could be their best bet at filling capacity at their under-utilized military truck plant. One is left to wonder what would have happened to Studebaker if this had actually gone into production.
