Studebaker’s 289 cu in V-8 turned out to be a damn good engine, as sturdy as the Chevy small-block. They could’ve built themselves a reputation on the drag strips. They even had a prototype R-5 engine for the Avanti with a Paxton twin turbo setup that put out almost 500hp, before they went under.
The company really was run by ‘car guys’ at the end, inc. Andy Granatelli, later CEO of STP (a Studebaker subsidiary)