I was about ten or so in the mid-60’s when I saw my first Avanti. I didn’t know what I was looking at. Car stylists had been influenced by the jet age and space age for several years, but this actually looked like a vehicle that had descended down from another planet and landed in little old Petersburg, Virginia. It didn’t have a conventional grille, brightwork was minimal, and it had kind of a Coke bottle shape. The car’s name in stylized script read “Avanti.” That was strange enough, but the strangest thing was recognizing the “S” logo on the futuristic and off-centered “hood ornament.” It was a Studebaker. Wha?? The same car company that produced the conservatively styled, rather boring looking, non head-turning Lark? Yep. The wild-looking Avanti was a last ditch effort to save Studebaker and drive foot traffic into dealers to see this halo car, but it was simply too late. Studebaker would shut off the lights and cease production for good in 1966.

Studebaker had hoped to sell 20,000 of these rakish Raymond Lowey designed “four-passenger high performance cars” for the 1963 model year, but only 4,647 managed to be built. Here’s one of those that’s been in the same family since new, looks beautiful inside and out, and has the highly sought after R2 289-horsepower Supercharged V8 under its rakish hood. This gorgeous 1963 Studebaker Avanti is located in Milford, Connecticut, and is listed for sale here on Facebook Marketplace for $58,000. Another great job of spotting this rare supercharged icon by super-spotter T.J.

Given the Avanti’s slippery, aerodynamic styling, Studebaker had no choice but to make the body out of fiberglass. Based on the photos, this one looks to be in great shape and the Avanti Red paint is glossy and shiny. The bumpers and other brightwork and trim (which is minimal and tasteful) as well as the glass, lenses, and cool, futuristic wheel covers all look very good. You can see why this car caused quite a stir when it was introduced to the world on April 26, 1962, at the New York International Automobile Show.

The Avanti’s stylish, modern looking and European-influenced luxurious interior compliments the car’s exterior perfectly. Fitted in a tasteful two-toned vinyl (in colors described as Fawn and Elk), the light tan contoured front bucket seats (and semi-contoured rear bench seat) look terrific as does everything else, including the padded dash, instrument panel (which housed a vanity case with a pop-up mirror), and center console. To me, this is one of the greatest interiors ever designed in the 1960’s (or any other decade).

Under the Avanti’s hood is the R2 engine, a supercharged version of Studebaker’s 289-cubic inch V8 featuring a Paxton Supercharger. With 289 horsepower, these supercharged Avantis were capable of 0-60 in 7-8 seconds with top speeds reaching over 150 mph. Studebaker’s promise of futuristic design and impressive performance wasn’t a bunch of marketing hooey. Approximately 1,500 factory supercharged R2 Avantis were built for the 1963 model year, but fewer than 500 left the factory with a 4-speed manual transmission like this one – making this rare car even rarer. Have you ever seen one of these supercharged ’63 Avantis? Better yet, have you ever driven or ridden in one? I’d imagine that would be an out-of-this-world experience.