Reimagining a Legend: The Blackline Starliner
This is the Blackline Starliner — a modern, Corvette-bred reinterpretation of Studebaker’s last great coupe.
The project began with a 1954 Studebaker Starliner shell stripped to raw metal, every factory weld inspected, every contour digitally scanned. Instead of refurbishing the tired ladder frame, the builders performed a more radical surgery: they grafted the heavily modified body onto an aftermarket Corvette performance chassis, giving the car the torsional strength and suspension geometry it should have had from day one. Double A-arms, modern bushings, rack-and-pinion steering — finally, the Starliner could move with the precision its design always promised.
Under the long, tapered hood beats a modern Corvette heart — an LS-series engine tuned not for shock value, but for relentless, effortless acceleration. It exhales through a hand-fabricated exhaust that gives the car a cross-plane pulse: quiet when cruising, wicked when provoked.
The exterior is finished in deep gloss black, the kind that turns glassy under the sun and disappears into shadow at dusk. No pinstripes, no graphics — just pure form. The stance is planted but not exaggerated, sitting over a set of Halibrand-style wheels that respectfully nod to Bonneville Salt Flats heritage. They’re a bridge between eras, exactly like the car wearing them.
Inside, the build avoids cosplay retro or tech-show gimmicks. The cabin keeps the Starliner’s sweep while integrating modern Corvette ergonomics, clean analog-inspired digital gauges, and materials that breathe quality: matte metal, stitched hides, and switchgear that feels engineered rather than improvised.
What Studebaker couldn’t finish in 1954, this car completes: a grand-touring American coupe that can stand beside anything built today, not as a curiosity, but as a contender.
A Studebaker in form.
A Corvette in soul.
And a reminder that some ideas are simply too good to die.
Inspiration: From a Modeler’s Corner article (Tim Doty?) in Street Rodder Magazine about 35+ years ago. Intermix of Corvette and Studebaker and white paint. I remember the feature but no longer have the magazine. If anyone has a copy, please take pictures and share!