Studebaker Avanti History
Catalog record
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History
The Avanti was a last, audacious swing by Studebaker president Sherwood Egbert: a Raymond Loewy-designed personal coupe styled in a 40-day crash program and built with a fiberglass body. Marketed as 'America's only four-passenger high-performance personal car,' it went on sale in 1962 as a 1963 model.
It was genuinely advanced — the first American production car offered with front disc brakes, a built-in roll bar, and aircraft-style controls. Power came from a 289 V8, the supercharged R2 (and rare R3) versions making it very fast; a modified Avanti set numerous records and topped 170 mph at the Bonneville Salt Flats.
Production was small (well under 6,000 cars) and quality and supply problems hampered the launch. When Studebaker closed its South Bend plant in December 1963, the Avanti died with it — but two local dealers bought the tooling and name, and Avanti variants were built by independent makers, on and off, into the 2000s.
Body styles
- Coupe
Notable special editions & performance variants
Avanti R2
The supercharged 289 V8 version (Paxton blower) — the quick Avanti that, in modified form, set speed records at Bonneville.
Avanti R3
Rare bored-out supercharged R-series engine; only a handful of factory R3 Avantis were built, making them among the most collectible.
Related models
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