A person would be hard-pressed to find a more unique-looking vehicle than this 1990 Avanti Touring four-door sedan for the money. I’m not putting this design in the same category as the Aston Martin Lagonda, but it almost seemed like an American version of that car. Ok, not really, but they both had four doors. This Avanti can be found here on Facebook Marketplace in Naperville, Illinois and the seller is asking $14,000. Here is the original listing, and thanks to Hans H. for the tip!
The wheels always throw me off a bit on these cars, and I know this was before TV reality car shows and the trend of upsizing wheels to just barely fit within the wheel wells, but this one could sure use bigger wheels. The center caps on the rear wheels appear to be missing so now is the time. I’m still surprised that a person can get this much uniqueness with an American drivetrain for $14 grand.
It’s hard to believe that the original Studebaker Avanti was only made for the 1963 and 1964 model years, they had such a modern design for the time. The car and name were reincarnated many times over the next few decades, including a very short stint from 1987 through 1991 when a gentleman named John Cafaro bought the company and moved it to Youngstown, Ohio. That’s when the four-door version appeared, and then quickly disappeared after a reported 90 examples were built.
A 1 of 90 car is pretty incredible and it’s strange that we’ve seen so many of them here on Barn Finds over the years. This looks like one of the nicest and also the cheapest, a strange combination for 2024. The interiors were incredible for the time, with hand-stitched orthopedically-designed seating, in leather, of course, and burled elm wood trim. Don’t forget the rear passenger compartment, that’s where this car will shine at the next Cars & Coffee event. Check out that feature: an optional built-in TV! It most likely would be like having an analog built-in “mobile phone” in your car, good for retro looks but not functional. Maybe it could somehow be modernized to retain the retro cabinet but with modern electronics.
Form meets function and that’s always a perfect combination, whether it’s an architectural masterpiece or a vehicle. This drivetrain should be able to serviced at the corner gas station, being a 305-cu.in. OHV Chevrolet V8 with 170 horsepower and 250 lb-ft of torque. Sending power through a GM Turbo-Hydramatic four-speed automatic to the rear wheels, this car is priced under Hagerty’s #3 good condition value. Have any of you seen an Avanti Touring sedan in person?
Never knew ☝️
Really didn’t catch the original beauty of the early cars did they. This looks like a Borgward on steroids.
If it ain’t got round headlights, it’s not an Avanti, just a copy..and this 4-door may be a decent enough car but it’s no Avanti.
They should have put the Avanti out to pasture well before his abomination was built. Its existence only served to damage the brand and legacy.
Steve R
The first post-Studebaker Avanti II, still built on a Studebaker chassis, was not bad. This thing is hideous.
This is one of the low production cars like the late, unlamented Packard Hawk. The wonder is not that they built so few, but that they sold so many. That front bumper looks awful.
4 door Avantis just don’t cut it.
The Studebaker museum in South Bend has a prototype four door Avanti thar was never built by Studebaker. I agree four doors on an Avanti is unconscionable, but it be an everyday driver.
Those weren’t so much a “prototype four door Avanti” but, rather, full-size concept bucks from the same Loewy-helmed design team, meant as proposals to revitalize the rest of Studebaker’s car line with Avanti-inspired styling cues. The two cars actually proposed four different body styles: one was a notchback, the other a fastback, with one side of each car prepared as a 4-door and the other side as a 2-door.
They’re fascinating to contemplate “what could have been”, but alas that eleventh-hour rush effort was for naught, as Sherwood Egbert’s untimely passing left the proposals without a Champion (if you’ll pardon the Stude pun), and despite Studebaker remaining nominally profitable, the Board was otherwise already committed to exiting the automotive market by any means necessary and would not be deterred.
The listing on Facebook says 1990 Chevrolet sedan, but it also says the listing has been removed. Interesting.
1990 Chevy would be the donor chassis these later Avantis were built on, and FB Marketplace only offers a limited list of marques to choose from, so that was the closest the seller could select. (Tip: if you select Vehicle Type: Other, you can enter any arbitrary make/model you want.)
A 4 door Avanti is almost as ridiculous as a 4 door Porsche. Almost.
It… almost works… in a quirky sort of way…
4 door Avantis just don’t cut it.
I kinda like the Porsche Panamera. Four doors, front engine but still sporty.
This, IMO is a horror story. Something Frankensteins monster would drive. The front is too flat, the bumper is hideous, they moved the parking lights, and the rear isn’t much better. The doors look heavy and this should be a 4 door hardtop, not a sedan.
Front bumper resembles a park bench, guess you could use it to feed the squirrels