See also Avanti cars
The Studebaker Avanti was a sports coupé built by the Studebaker Corporation at the direction of its president
Sherwood EgbertSherwood Harry Egbert , born Easton, Kittitas County, Washington, July 24, 1920, a burly former U.S. marine, served as president of the Studebaker-Packard Corporation and Studebaker Corporation from February 1, 1961, to November 24, 1963.-History:...
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.
Production details
"The car's design theme is the result of sketches Sherwood Egbert "doodled" on a jet-plane flight west from Chicago 37 days after becoming president of Studebaker in February, 1961." Designed by
Raymond LoewyRaymond Loewy was an industrial designer, and the first to be featured on the cover of Time Magazine, on October 31, 1949. Born in France, he spent most of his professional career in the United States...
'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 LarkThe Studebaker Lark is a "compact car" which was produced by Studebaker from 1959 to 1966.From its introduction in early 1959 until 1962, the Lark was a product of the Studebaker-Packard Corporation. In mid-1962, the company dropped "Packard" from its name and reverted to its pre-1954 name, the...
Daytona 109-inch convertible chassis with a modified 289 Hawk engine. The car was fitted with front
disc-brakesThe disc brake or disk brake is a device for slowing or stopping the rotation of a wheel while it is in motion.A brake disc is usually made of cast iron, but may in some cases be made of composites such as reinforced carbon–carbon or ceramic matrix composites. This is connected to the wheel and/or...
which were British Dunlop designed units, made under license by
BendixThe Bendix Corporation was an American manufacturing and engineering company which during various times in its 60 year existence made brake systems, aeronautical hydraulics, avionics, aircraft and automobile fuel control systems, radios, televisions and computers, and which licensed its name for...
, "the first American production model to offer them." A
PaxtonPaxton Automotive is a United States-based manufacturer of superchargers for automotive use. The company is the major proponent of the centrifugal type supercharger. Early products were offered under the McCulloch name. Some Paxton superchargers have been factory fitted, but most units sold have...
supercharger was offered as an option.
The plan was to build the car bodies at Molded Fibreglass Body Co., at
Ashtabula, OhioAs of the census of 2000, there were 20,962 people, 8,435 households, and 5,423 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,775.9 people per square mile . There were 9,151 housing units at an average density of 1,211.8 per square mile...
, the same company that built the fibreglass panels for the
Chevrolet CorvetteThe Chevrolet Corvette is a sports car by the Chevrolet division of General Motors that has been produced in six generations. The first model, a convertible, was designed by Harley Earl and introduced at the GM Motorama in 1953 as a concept show car. Myron Scott is credited for naming the car after...
back in 1953. Egbert planned to sell 20,000 Avantis in 1962 but could build only 1200.
The Avanti was publicly introduced on April 26, 1962, "simultaneously at the New York International Automobile Show and at the Annual Shareholders' Meeting."
Rodger WardRodger M. Ward was an American racecar driver who won the 1959 and 1962 Indianapolis 500. He also was the 1959 and 1962 USAC Championship Car champion.-Early history:...
, winner of the 1962 Indianapolis 500, received a Studebaker Avanti as part of his prize package, "thus becoming the first private owner of an Avanti." A Studebaker Lark convertible was the Indianapolis pace car that year and the Avanti was
named the honorary pace car.
In December 1962 the
Los Angeles Times reported: "Launching of operations at Studebaker's own fiber-glass body works to increase production of Avantis." Many production problems concerning the supplier, fit and finish resulted in countless delays, as well as cancelled orders.
After the closure of Studebaker's factory on 20 December 1963,
Competition Press reported: "Avantis will no longer be manufactured and contrary to the report that there are thousands gathering dust in South Bend warehouses, Studebaker has only five Avantis left. Dealers have about 2,500, and 1600 have been sold since its introduction." This contrasted with Chevrolet which produced 23,631 Corvette sports cars in 1963.
The iconic Avanti name, tooling and plant space were sold to two
South Bend, IndianaThe city of South Bend is the county seat of St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States, on the St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. As of the 2010 Census, the city had a total of 101,168 residents; its Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 316,663...
, Studebaker dealers, Nate Altman and Leo Newman, the first of a succession of entrepreneurs to manufacture small numbers of
Avanti replica and new design cars through 2006See also Studebaker AvantiAfter the closure of Studebaker's South Bend factory on 20 December 1963, cars bearing the name of its celebrated Avanti sports coupé continued to be produced by a series of entrepreneurs, initially from left-over Studebaker components and later from General Motors and...
.
Further reading
External links