Topic: SOLVED: si_605 - Studebaker Commander - TV Series "Fernfahrer" - 1963

[sichel]

Does anyone know any details about this car (powertrain, body...)?
The picture is from a German TV series from the mid-60s. In this scene, the main character, a truck driver, is offered help by the crew of this police car in Switzerland.
Well, the Swiss police were quite luxurious back then, but with what?

[sichel]

Up to the Experts.

[galrot]

Ist it a 1955 Studbaker?

[sichel]

I have no idea. Hence the question here.

[fyreline]

The IMDB site says this is a 1955 Studebaker Commander as used in the TV series "Fernfahrer", which aired 1963-1967. On the show it was referred to as a Swiss police car, even though the show was filmed in Germany. Obvious modifications include the removal of the "V" emblem in the grille, and the auxiliary headlamps which either replace or are mounted in front of the standard units.

[marmer]

Looks like Mercedes-Benz W108 Euro headlight covers, maybe just covering the stock Studebaker headlights.

[marmer]

So I have a cultural question, coming from my ignorance of things European: Why, in a land where they would have easy access to French, German, and Italian cars, would the Swiss police want to drive something quite uncommon and maybe difficult to identify for the audience?  I have a hunch that they are very tuned into both elegance and perhaps being a little mysterious.  Is this so?

[fyreline]

Those are good questions, Marmer. Perhaps there was a Studebaker distributor in Switzerland in the 1950s so that it could be obtained & serviced fairly easily? While I'm sure that a 1955 V-8 Studebaker would have made a potent pursuit car for the local police, it does seem like an odd choice. Incidentally, I want no point for the identification, as the original poster (sichel) stated he didn't know for certain what it was and was only seeking to have it identified.

[marmer]

Four things come to mind, which may not necessarily be related.

1. Studebaker advertising for the Loewy-styled models in the US made much of a "European Look."

2. Studebaker collaborated with Porsche on the Type 542 four-door prototype.

3. Studebaker was, briefly, in the late 1950s, the US distributor for Mercedes-Benz.

4. There is apparently a fairly active Studebaker owners' community in Europe.

So maybe a Studebaker turning up in Switzerland isn't quite so strange after all.

[sichel]

@ marmer and fireline:
This Studebaker Commander was probably created on the initiative of the director or producer of this series. I never missed an episode of ‘Fernfahrer’ when I was a boy. The DVDs are still a worthwhile look back at the working world of a driver at that time.
Nevertheless, the Swiss police did have some American emergency vehicles. For the most part, however, they were of European origin. I attach some photos 
fireline and marmer, there is a ‘sichel-bee’ for your contribution to the solution.