Robert E. Bourke Jr.

Robert E. "Bob" Bourke Jr. (June 15, 1916 – December 1, 1996) was an automotive and industrial designer. He was best known for his design of the 1953-1954 Studebaker Starliner while he was the Manager and Chief Designer of Raymond Loewy and Associates South Bend, Indiana office, which had the Studebaker account. This automobile won dozens of design prizes. It was featured on the cover of Time magazine in 1953 and exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art, which later called it "a work of art". The Fashion Academy of New York awarded it its gold medal. In 1987 the Society of Automotive Engineers recognized Bourke as one of the five most influential automobile designers of the last 50 years, joining Gordon Buehrig (1936 Cord), Zora Arkus-Duntov (1956 Corvette), Eugene “Bob” Gregoire (1940 Lincoln Continental), and Alex Tremulis (1946- 48 Tucker.)

The 1953 Studebaker Starliner is generally acknowledged as one of the finest automotive styling achievements in the 20th century and was the first full production American automobile which emulated post-war European sports car design.