1963 Studebaker Avanti

The Studebaker Avanti was a revolutionary vehicle, and its design was courtesy of the talents of renowned industrial designer Raymond Loewy's design team. Its body was made of fiberglass, and this was the first American car, mass-produced, to have front disc brakes. Safety features included door reinforcements, an overhead vinyl-covered roll-bar, and door locks designed with a stainless-steel pin and lock system to achieve a positive lock. The suspension was comprised of front and rear sway bars.

Initially called the Model X, it was eventually called the Studebaker Avanti. It was the brainchild of Studebaker President Sherwood Egbert, and Studebaker engineers and designers had the first Avanti built in less than six months and at one-tenth the cost of a normal Detroit-built automobile. The design featured smooth lines, a wedge shape, and an under-the-bumper radiator air intake. Studebaker advertised the Avanti as a new class of American automobiles that had both sophistication and great elegance.

For 1963, Studebaker built 3,834 examples of its 2-door Sport Coupe. Power was from an overhead valve 289 cubic-inch 8-cylinder engine offering 240 horsepower. With the R2 Supercharged engine, horsepower rose to nearly 300. The engine had overhead valves, a cast-iron block, solid valve lifters, a Carter four-barrel carburetor, and five main bearings. The addition of the supercharger added an additional $210 to the base price of the Avanti (the base price of the two-door Sport Coupe was $4,445).

by Dan Vaughan

Sport Coupe
Chassis number: 63R1209

The original design for the Studebaker Avanti took only a few weeks for Raymond Loewy and his design team to create. Production began near the close of 1962 and soon attracted the attention of several celebrities and a large number of consumers. To showcase the car's capabilities, Andy Granatelli drove a specially-prepared example to over 170 mph at Bonneville. This meant the Avanti was the 'World's Fastest Production Car' at the time.

Though it was an advanced vehicle with better-than-average performance, sales were slow. Production soon came to a halt, and by 1964, Studebaker had closed its South Bend plant.

This Studebaker Avanti R1 example was produced during the first round headlights. The prior owner was Lloyd Richardson, who personally restored the car to factory specifications.

The car is painted in factory black with a black-and-tan vinyl interior. It is equipped with four-wheel disc brakes, fiberglass bodywork, a Borg-Warner Automatic gearbox, factory air conditioning, and a 289 cubic-inch 'Jet Thrust' V8 engine.

In 2007 the car was offered for sale at the Gooding & Company auction held in Pebble Beach, California, where it was estimated to sell for $20,000 - $30,000. It was offered without reserve. Those estimates proved accurate as the lot was sold for $30,800, including the buyer's premium.

by Dan Vaughan

Sport Coupe

Studebaker's answer to the Chevrolet Corvette was the Avanti. It was built in similar fashion using fiberglass for the body and built on a standard chassis - the Lark Daytona Convertible. For an additional $210, a supercharger version of Studebaker's 289 CID V-8 could be had. Sadly, the Avanti did not help the failing company, and the production of Studebakers in the US ended on December 9th, 1963. The Avanti continued as an independent brand into the 1980s.

Sport Coupe

The Studebaker Avanti was a sports coupe built by the Studebaker Corporation at the direction of its president Sherwood Egbert between June 1962 and December 1963. It has been described as 'one of the more significant milestones of the postwar industry', gaining iconic status with enthusiasts and collectors.

Designed by Raymond Loewy's team of Tom Kellogg, Bob Andrews, and John Ebstein on a 40-day crash program, the Avanti featured a radical fiberglass body design mounted on a modified Studebaker Lark Daytona 109-inch convertible chassis with a modified 289 Hawk engine. Only 4,643 Avantis (not including prototypes, some of which were assigned serial numbers at the end of the run) were produced.

This Avanti is in original, unrestored condition. The paint, interior, and motor are 100% original. It has 48,000 original miles.

This car's owner is its third. The car was sold new to a doctor in Northwest Pennsylvania.

Sport Coupe

Raymond Loewy was contracted by Studebaker management to design, in secret, an entirely new car with the hope of revitalizing the image of America's oldest vehicle manufacturer. Loewy and his team produced the Avanti (meaning 'forward' in Italian), a sport coupe introduced as a 1963 model coded 63R. Styling included a built-in roll bar with an aerodynamic glass fiber body that swept back from smooth, unconventional front styling into a Coke bottle shape that enclosed amenities for four people to travel in grand touring, bucket seat comfort uncommon for the time. High-style slim-line seats and full, aircraft-style instrumentation were augmented with a manual or autoshift transmission.

Caliper disc brakes, the first in domestic production, provided stopping power for the 3,240 lb Avanti. Power was from Studebaker's 289 cubic-inch overhead valve engine as either the single 4-barrel R1, 240 horsepower, or R2, Paxton supercharged, delivering 290 horsepower. Much rarer were Avanti's with the engine bored to 304.5 cubic inches supercharged to about 345 horsepower, the R3 or the R4 dual 4-barrel engine without supercharging.

An experimental engine with dual superchargers, the R5, produced about 575 horsepower. These were the cars that set 29 new world land speed records at Bonneville in late 1962, with an R3 Avanti becoming the fastest American production car of the time. Total Avanti production in all forms was 3,834, with an average price of $4,445.

Sport Coupe

In 1736 three hardy Studenbecker men sailed from Germany for Philadelphia. One of their descendants was John Studebaker, who eventually settled in South Bend, Indiana. In 1852 he began what would become a prosperous wagon-making business with his five sons.

They entered the car business in 1903, first with electric cars, then with gas power a year later. Trucks and then buses, fire engines, and even small-rail locomotives followed. Over the next fifty years, a well-respected reputation for quality was slowly built.

The dashing Avanti - meaning 'forward' in Italian - debuted in 1962. Its 289 CID OHV engine came in four versions and such was its stunning design that orders soon outnumbered those for the new Corvette. However, delays with the fiberglass body caused many buyers to switch to the new Sting Ray.

The Avanti included a roll bar, aircraft-style instrumentation, and disc brakes. This car had the R2 package - which meant 290 horsepower of Paxton supercharger idling under the hood. The compression ratio was a modest 9.0:1 to handle the belt-driven blower. It makes 303 lb-ft of torque; does 0-60 in 6.3 seconds and tops out at 158 mph. 3,834 Avanti's were built, costing an average of $4,445.

This car was the fourth one built and was assigned to the New York Studebaker office for publicity appearances. Options included tinted glass, power steering, seat belts, limited slip differential, radio, and the supercharger. The current owner has owned a number of Avanti's including an R2 that was lost in a fire.

Sport Coupe

The Avanti was designed by Raymond Loewy's team of Tom Kellogg, Bob Andrews, and John Ebstein. Loewy envisioned a low-slung, long-hood/short-deck semi-fastback coupe with a grille-less nose and a wasp-waisted curvature to the rear fenders, suggesting a supersonic aircraft. The radical-looking body was mounted on a modified Studebaker Lark chassis and was powered by a modified 289 cubic-inch Hawk engine. The Avanti's complex body shape would have been both challenging and expensive to build in steel, so Studebaker chose to make the exterior panels of fiberglass, outsourcing the work to the same company that built the fiberglass panels for the Chevrolet Corvette in 1953.

The Avanti featured front disc brakes that were British Dunlop designed, made under license by Bendix, the first American production model to offer them. It was one of the first bottom breather designs where air enters from under the front of the vehicle rather than via a conventional grille, a design feature that would become much more common after the 1980s. A Paxton supercharger was offered as an option.

The Avanti was publicly introduced on April 26, 1962, at the New York International Automobile. Studebaker's financial problems resulted in the closure of the factory on December 20, 1963.

This early production 1963 example has recently undergone a complete restoration by the current owner. It features a rare orange interior and the desirable 4-speed manual gearbox.

Sport Coupe

The Avanti debuted at the 1962 Indianapolis 500. The car was created to revive interest in the failing Studebaker brand, and was marketed as a 'prestige car' similar to the Ford Thunderbird and Buick Riviera. Standard equipment included a fiberglass body, seat belts, disc brakes, and a roll bar. Available options included a supercharged engine, a four-speed manual transmission, and a tilt steering wheel. Bendix supplied the Avanti's disc brakes under a license from Dunlop of England.

Sport Coupe

Although the Pontiac GTO is often thought of as the original muscle car, there was a group out in South Bend, Indiana, that was certainly ahead of the curve. Starting in late 1956, Studebaker was building cars with an optional Paxton Supercharger under the hood.

When the Avanti was introduced in late 1962, the Raymond Loewy design was certainly unlike anything ever seen before. With a name that derives from the Italian word 'forward,' it is certainly an example of not only forward styling but also forward thinking.

This Avanti is powered by the R3 304.5 cubic inch engine with a Paxton supercharger, large port heads, and cast iron headers. All R3 engines were factory blueprinted and hand-assembled at the Paxton facilities. They would be offered as a factory option for the Avanti line and also through the dealer parts network.

The engine in this Avanti is serial number B 109, known to be the last one assembled with high-performance R3 heads. It also features additional unique parts, including the only known set of R5 pistons. Power is transferred to the road through a 4-speed manual T10 transmission backed by a stout Dana 44 rear axle with a limited-slip differential. This car also features a rare set of magnesium Halibrand Sebring wheels.

Sport Coupe

In 1961 Sherwood Egbert, the President of Studebaker realized he needed a newly designed automobile if he was going to turn around the company's sagging fortunes. He turned to famed industrial designer Raymond Loewy to come up with a car to excite the buying public. With little time or money, Loewy created the Avanti, offering a radical departure from Studebaker products with aerodynamic styling. It included many firsts including, modern disc brakes, a roll bar and a variety of high-performance engine packages. The Avanti is powered by a 289 V-8 engine developing 300 horsepower. Famed Indy racer Andy Granatelli set 29-speed records in 12 hours at the Bonneville Salt Flats. Granatelli, an experienced promoter, was also president of Paxton Engineering and STP, both Studebaker subsidiaries. He knew setting records was a cheap advertising and the car's sleek design allowed for high speeds. A stock Avanti hit 170.8 mph, making it the fastest 4-passenger production car in the United States.

Sport Coupe

In early 1961, design chief Raymond Loewy assembled a three-man team at the behest of new Studebaker president Sherwood Egbert to create a halo vehicle. They produced a 1:8-scale clay model within two weeks and a full-size fiberglass by early 1962. Its 'space-age' grille-less front, raked stance, Coke-bottle contours, asymmetrical hood, and blade bumpers were balanced by tasteful chrome trim.

Its hand-stitched interior offered eight red-lit Stewart-Warner gauges, overhead rocker switches, delta-wing console levers, and an integrated roll bar, while its specially tuned 289 cubic-inch V8 and standard front disc brakes gave good performance for its day. The hand-built 1963 Avanti was extensively marketed and enthusiastically received at introduction, but sales were hampered by production delays. Just 3,834 1963 Avantis were built, followed by 809 1964s before Studebaker canceled production in December 1963. This 1963 example, built on February 5, 1963, was frame-off restored in 1998.

Sport Coupe
Chassis number: R1 1060

This particular Studebaker Avanti R1 is the 60th example to have been built of the total production run of 4,647 units - of which roughly half (2,418 units) were built for the 1963 model year. This car wears fiberglass bodywork by the original producer, MFG of Ashtabula, Ohio – later, Studebaker would bring this in-house. It is believed to have been sold to a lady in Clearwater, Florida, through her local Studebaker dealer. It left the factory in Avanti Red with a black interior. It was equipped with a Borg Warner T10 four-speed manual transmission mated to its R1 289 cubic-inch V8. Accessories included an AM radio and seat belts.

This car was acquired by Judith Gould from the original Clearwater owner and used on a regular basis until around 1975, when it was brought to the Gould family's Wells Auto Museum in Maine. By that point, it had covered 54,000 miles from new. Since then, only minimal miles have been put on the odometer.

by Dan Vaughan

Sport Coupe

Studebaker President Sherwood Egbert called upon famed designer Raymond Loewy to design a luxury sports coupe based on a shortened Lark convertible chassis. The four-man design team, holed up in a Palm Springs, California home, managed to design the fiberglass-bodied car going from nothing to a clay mockup in just 40 days! Called Avanti, it featured an aircraft-inspired cockpit and 4-seat interior with integral roll bar. The Avanti was the first American car to have standard front wheel disc brakes and the first mass-produced fiberglass-bodied four-passenger American car. Just 3,834 were built for 1963; another 809 in 1964 when production was discontinued - not before breaking 29 speed records on the Bonneville Salt Flats including a record top speed of 168.24mph.

This car was built on December 7, 1962; delivered to Martin Motor Sales of Charlotte, Michigan; and sold to the owner of a Dimondale, Michigan lumber yard for his wife. It has just 41,000 original miles. The Avanti received a frame-off restoration in 1990.

Engine

Studebaker 289 V8 R1 engine, 240 hp, 10.25:1 Compression Ratio, Carter AFB Carburetor, Bore & Stroke (inches) 3.562 x 3.625, High Lift Cam, Chrome Valve Covers, Stainless Steel Electrical Cover, Chrome Air Cleaner

Sport Coupe

This 1963 Studebaker Avanti was designed by Raymond Lowery and was assembled at Studebaker Automotive Plant in South Bend, Indiana. It has a three-speed automatic transmission with overdrive.

Studebaker came into existence in the very early 1800s when they specialized in making wagons for the Union Army during the Civil War. The company later switched over to producing automobiles and by the 1920's had built a reputation for making a fairly good car at a reasonable price. As the 1920s came to a close, the Great Depression, coupled with stiff competition, made business difficult for the struggling Studebaker Company. An acquisition in 1928 of the Pierce-Arrow Company nearly sent them to bankruptcy. Though the Pierce-Arrow vehicles were some of the best in the industry, they had not done enough to stay competitive. They were supports of the six-cylinder engine while the rest of the competition had outfitted their vehicles with larger eight- and twelve-cylinder vehicles. By the time Pierce-Arrow began using the larger engines, their competition again changed their marketing plans and moved 'down-market', producing lines of inexpensive cars in order to stimulate sales.

During the late 1930s, Studebaker was again able to turn a profit, and their business began to prosper. After World War II, they were the first American company to introduce new and dramatic designs while their competition continued to create outdated vehicles. By the close of the 1950s, the Studebaker Company was once again faced with staggering sales. In an attempt to redirect their misfortune, Raymond Loewy, a renowned industrial designer, was hired to create a performance car. With the help of three other designers, Loewy began creating a new vehicle that would surely resurrect the troubled company. Locked in a private cottage for two weeks, the team was able to create a clay model accompanied by detailed drawings, which they presented to Studebaker.

Studebaker quickly began creating the car, but since money was scarce, the company performed many cost-cutting measures such as modifying a Studebaker Lark convertible chassis and using that as the basis for the vehicle. By 1962 the car was ready and dubbed the Avanti, Italian for 'forward'. It was an instant love-or-hate design. Since this was to be a performance car, Studebaker employed the services of Andy and Joe Granatelli to modify the engine. In forty days, the task was completed and the result was a power plant that could propel the Avanti to a top speed of 171.10 miles per hour, which it achieved on a clocked run at the Nevada desert. Further fine-tuning of the engine, chassis, and body gave the engine the name 'R3'.

Though it had captured the title of 'fastest production car in America' it failed to generate sales. The styling of the vehicle was too much for buyers to bear. In total, only nine examples of the Avant R3 were ever ordered. The company was forced to close its doors on December 9th, 1963, and production ceased. Production of the Studebaker Lark continued for two more years in Canada.

by Dan Vaughan

The Studebaker marquis had been in the business for over 100 years before the Avanti was debuted. In the mid-1950s the company lacked the economy of scale of the bigger U.S. automakers like General Motors and couldn't compete with their prices. They managed to tread water by producing compact economy Lark models that sold remarkably well for the times until 1961 when their volume fell by more than half.

Being described as one of the most impactful milestones from the postwar industry, the dapper Avanti was among the most enterprising 1960s American cars. Influenced by popular Italian sports cars of the time, including Jaguar's new E-Type, it featured incredibly innovative American styling.

Just thirty-seven days after becoming president of Studebaker in early 1961, young Sherwood Egbert was doodling a design during a jet plane ride that would inspire the Avanti. Milwaukee-based designer Brooks Stevens did the best he could do with dated Studebaker cars and engines but Egbert desired a truly spectacular new car to grab the public and aid the ailing automaker.

Stevens was busy updated higher-volume cars so Egbert enlisted the creative Raymond Loewy, a well-known industrial designer with a substantial auto design background. Loewy was in fact responsible for one of the most eye-catching American cars of the 1950's; the 1953 Studebaker coupe. With just a rough idea of what Egbert was wanting

the car would be designed by Loewy's hand-picked team of Tom Kellogg, Job Ebstein, and veteran Bob Andrews. Andrews and Ebstein had been longtime Loewy designers and Kellogg was a recent graduate from the Art Center College of Design in Southern California. His gifted team was moved to a rented desert bungalow near Palm Springs, California to fully immerse themselves without any distractions from Studebaker executives. For weeks the talented team worked 16-hour days on the design of the car. The design theme was clearly described to his team with phrases like 'wedgy silhouette' and 'Coke-shape' from Loewy. He knew that Egbert loved flying so he designed an aircraft-style cockpit and even personally designed the wheel openings, which mimicked the flight trajectory of the Russian Sputnik space satellite.

On March 19, 1961, a clay scale model was given to Egbert by the Loewy group. The Studebaker president fell in love with it instantly. Following board approval, the construction began just five short weeks after the team had begun work on it. Never before had any big American automaker ever progressed so quickly.

The end result would be an impressive fiberglass body design mounted onto a revamped Studebaker Lark Daytona 109-inch convertible chassis with an updated 289 Hawk engine. Construction was set to happen at Molded Fibreglass Body Co., at Ashtabula, Ohio, which was the same company that built fiberglass panels for the Chevy Corvette back in 1953.

Featuring a coke-bottle 'waist', the Avanti was truly something to behold. It had razor-edged front fenders that flowed back to the curved rear end and landed in a dynamic tail. The roof was thin-sectioned and an extra-large window was found in the rear along with a built-in roll bar. An air scoop was at the front underneath a thin bumper and the hood had an asymmetrical hump. Passengers sat in four slim-section bucket seats, much like ones found in an Alfa Romeo sports car. On the inside, it really did resemble an airplane cockpit with aircraft-style controls and instruments some even place above the windshield.

Since the design had been rushed there wasn't time or resources for wind-tunnel testing, but the Avanti proved itself to be amazingly aerodynamic. The Loewy team guessed at the car's slick shape, but it paid off when the car could hit nearly 200 mph. The body was constructed of fiberglass, once again because time and money were tight and left no roof for steel body dies. With a shortened muscular Lark convertible frame and sport suspension with front and back anti-sway bars the car was incredibly strong and also had bear radius rods to give exceptional handling.

Under the Avanti hood was an updated version of Studebakers aged but durable 289-cubic inch V8. Developing 240 horsepower in standard 'R1' form, this 'Jet Thrust' engine featured dual exhausts, a four-barrel carburetor, a 3/4 –race high-lift camshaft, and a dual-breaker distributor. It supercharged 'R2' form it developed impressive 290 horsepower. Several supercharged 'R3' V8s engines were produced that developed 335 horsepower. An experimental 'R4' was a non-supercharged 280 hp V8 with dual four-barrel carburetors. Even more impressive was a twin-supercharged, fuel-injected 'R5' V8 engine with magneto ignition that produced 575 horsepower.

The personal luxury coupe Avanti was introduced at the New York International Automobile Show on April 26 of 1962. Advertised by Studebaker as 'America's Only 4 Passenger High-Performance Personal Car!' it continued in production until December of 1963. The public was enthusiastic over the arrival of the upscale Avanti, much to Studebaker's delight. Nicely equipped the 1963 and 1964 models had a base price of $4,445. Dubbed 'America's Most Advanced Automobile' the Avanti was available in red, gold, white, turquoise, and black. Gray and maroon were later offered. The Avanti was the most expensive car in Studebaker's lineup with the Gran Turismo Hawk following close second priced at $3,095. The Avanti was designed to compete with the Buick Riviera, the Chevy Corvette Stingray, and the Ford Thunderbird.

The winner of the 1962 Indianapolis 500, Roger Ward won a Studebaker Avanti as part of his prize package at the Annual Shareholders' Meeting. Ward became the first private owner of an Avanti. That same year a Studebaker Lark convertible became the Indianapolis pace car and the Avant was dubbed the honorary pace car.

At a time when safety wasn't the highest priority to U.S. automakers, Studebaker added features that included door latches that became structural body members when shut, a padded interior, and a built-in roll bar. The Avanti became the first mass-produced fiberglass body four-passenger American car and the first to use caliper-style disc brakes. The Avanti featured front disc brakes that were British Dunlop-designed units produced under license by Bendix. A Paxton supercharger was offered as an option.

One of the fastest cars during the 1960's, some Avanti models came with a supercharged V8 engine and had a top speed of 168 mph. A modified version could reach 196 mph, which was mind-blowing for a 1960s production streetcar.

The plan was to sell 20,000 models in 1962, but unfortunately, only 1,200 models were built. Molded Fiberglass Co., which also constructed Corvette fiberglass body parts messed up Avanti bodies and delayed production for months. Unfortunately, countless delays and canceled orders were quick to follow. Though Studebaker set up its own fiberglass production most buyers ended up canceling their order and buying a Corvette or other comparable sport car. Rumors spread at the same time that Studebaker was on the edge of going out of business and in December of 1963 they did close their South Bend operation. The door was barely closed before the final 1964 Avanti left the plant.

The Avanti title, plant space, and tooling were sold to Nate Altman and Leo Newman, Studebaker dealers in South Bend, Indiana. Lasting four decades after 1963 with Chevy V8 engines, numerous Avanti replicas, and new design cars would be produced through 2006. Newman and Altman bought the rights to the car and formed Avanti Motor Corp., and continued to create hand-built models for years in the old plant dubbed 'Avanti II'. Powered came from a Corvette V8 and Gene Hardig; the original Avanti head engineer was happy to take on his old role. Altman felt that the Avanti was 'too sensational' to let it die and worked diligently for more than a decade to keep it alive. Nearly identical to the Studebaker version, the Avanti II however lost its slight front rake and featured the Corvette V8 engine. It was of a much higher quality and the purchaser was able to select their own carpet and other high-grade interior material. Altman died in the mid-1970s and his family sold the operation.

In Canada until 1966 various Larks and several other models were constructed. For some 1964 models, the Avanti 240- and 290-horsepower V8s were available. In 1963 a total of 3,835 Avanti's were produced. The following year the numbers totaled 809. One can typically tell the models apart by the rounded headlights of '63 and square headlights of '64.

Ian Fleming, James Bond author ordered a black Avanti and shipped it overseas when he traveled outside of the U.S.

Today an impressive number of Avanti's have survived the test of time. Thanks to the solid construction of the day and their no-rust fiberglass body. A '63 or '64 R1 is valued at $10,800 in good condition and nearly double that at $20,500 if in exceptional condition according to the Cars of Particular Interest guide. A R2 can go for $12,000 to $22,800.

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Studebaker_Avanti

http://www.danjedlicka.com/classic_cars/studebaker_avanti.html

http://articles.southbendtribune.com/2012-06-24/news/32397623_1_sherwood-egbert-raymond-loewy-andrew-beckman

by Jessican Donaldson