Restored ‘Muppet Movie’ car to be unveiled in South Bend
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The 1951 Studebaker Commander featured in 1979’s “The Muppet Movie” will make its public debut Saturday after an ambitious restoration undertaking spearheaded by the Studebaker National Museum in South Bend.
The antique wheels driven by Kermit the Frog and Fozzie Bear will be on display at the Concours d’Elegance at Copshaholm car show in South Bend after a restoration initiative that began in January 2024. The Studebaker National Museum had reached out to movie car restoration firm Razorfly Studios of Sylva, North Carolina, to restore the vehicle to its former Muppet glory.
“The museum selected Razorfly Studios as our partner for this restoration because of their extraordinary attention to detail and unparalleled passion for screen-used vehicles,” museum Executive Director Pat Slebonick said in a news release.
“The Muppet Movie” producers used two identical Studebakers for filming. One was for long shots but was not preserved and no longer exists. The other was modified to allow puppeteers to control the Muppets from under the dashboard while a driver steered the car from the trunk using custom controls.
In the movie, Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem give the vehicle a colorful makeover.
That Studebaker sat for years on a Warner Bros. studio back lot before being acquired in 2004 by the Orange Empire Chapter of the Studebaker Drivers Club in California. The club donated it to the Studebaker National Museum.
“This is an icon for a whole generation of people, and anytime that we can try to connect our collection and the whole Studebaker story with pop culture, it helps us make it relevant to a whole generation of people,” Slebonick told Inside INdiana Business in January 2024.
The restoration was funded by Studebaker parts and repair shops Studebaker International, Stephen Allen’s LLC, Westmoreland Studebaker, Studebakers West and Midwest Studebaker, the release said.
The unveiling, which will feature members of the Razorfly Studios team, will occur at noon on Saturday at the museum, 201 Chapin St., during the Concours d’Elegance at Copshaholm. The unveiling event is included with admission to the Concours.