Studebaker had high hopes for the luxurious and sporty Avanti when it was introduced in the Fall of 1962. The automobile went from a concept on a cocktail napkin to a production car in less than 18 months, pretty much an industry record. But, because it was a Studebaker, delays occurred, and the company’s finances continued to dwindle so the Avanti was gone by Christmas 1963. This first-year Avanti is not only a beauty but also the “R2” model which came with a supercharged engine. Wearing an older restoration, this Studebaker is in Hagerstown, Maryland, and is available through a dealer here on eBay. The current bid is $27,100 while the reserve remains elusive.
Plans were for the Avanti to account for sales of 20,000 units per year. However, production would stop at 4,647 cars when Studebaker closed its U.S. auto manufacturing plant and shifted operations to Canada. The Avanti and the Gran Turismo were two vehicles that didn’t make the cut. After struggling for another couple of years, Studebaker got out of the car business altogether in 1966. All Avanti’s came with a 289 cubic inch V8, and those with a Paxton supercharger were rated at one horsepower per CI. In 1963, 1,552 R2s were assembled along with just 281 more for 1964.
The seller estimates this car to be one of maybe 4-500 produced for ’63 because it came with a 4-speed manual transmission while the rest were outfitted with an automatic transmission. We’re told this machine was restored in the mid-1990s and that process comes with a flood of documentation, before and after. One of the departures from stock was that the owner decided to change the paint color, going from gold to black. This Studebaker has not been a garage queen as the seller estimates the odometer reflects 126,000 miles.
Sold new in Monterrey, California, the interior looks spotless and quite inviting, a hallmark of the Avanti (even after it was later continued as the Avanti II, but that’s another story for another time). The automobile has held up quite nicely with only a few tiny flaws, like a non-working clock and a sticky tachometer. There is also one small paint chip on the hood. The photos provided may not do the car justice as many of them are focused more on what is surrounding the auto than the auto itself. The Avanti has always been on my Holy Grail list and this one would certainly look great in my garage.
Such cool cars. 😎 w the supercharger and 4sp. Well its a primo Avanti.
I want it for Christmas, but I am getting a used Honda snowblower, to replace my 1975 Ariens which needs a total restoration – not a lot of compression, blades are worn, clogs up with wet snow which the Honda does not. But it served my uncle well for 20 years, and me for 25 more.
I’ve heard that Ariens is a solidly built and dependable brand. It sounds like your ’75 served you very well over the years.
If the 130,000 is accurate, on a 59 year old car, I’d call that a garage queen. Even if it sat for half that time, its still barely 4,400 a year travelled.
The original auction closed with no sale https://www.ebay.com/itm/144795941789?nma=true&si=VdBmd%252Fxj5rH6p0v8eCKoSEw7MWo%253D&orig_cvip=true&nordt=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557
Such pioneering cars usually didn’t get the attention they
deserved when they were new. What was considered good
about the Corvette 15 years later with the round shaped rear
glass did not seem to be granted to the Avanti when it was
launched. And the Avanti has a trunk lid too.
Today we would fit a rear lift-hatch. Practicality and design.
(See Saab 9000 from 1994 onward) Perfect.
It uses also a well balanced design inside, but the light-coloured
dashboard, which already conveys a sporty feel, is dazzling
in the sun. Dark colours give less stress to passengers eyes
in bright conditions.
And the park brake lever should be left from the drivers seat,
or in the center console. Sporty feel? Yes!
The 2nd series is a bit luckier on the outside, especially the
stupidly looking front end of the 1st series with round head-
lights – as on many American cars of this time – as well as
some other details look on the later model better.
Studebaker should have sold it as a 4-4-2:
4 carburettors 4 gears 2 exhausts. Just my 5 cent.
The only con on this example is the open air cleaner. Just
above the hot exhaust is not a lucky solution. Clogged
carbs and engine intake someday?
So much potential…The rear looks great! Swooping trunk lid that ends in a crisp line, swooping hip line with a nice bump over the wheel, panorama rear window, tastefully integrated tail lights, the bumper returns maybe a bit too long and heavy, the rear quarter lights a bit too tilted forward and a bit of a frumpy roof line, but all-in-all a very gracious rear end.
But as soon a we look at the front….EEEEEEEEEEEEKKKK. Raymond, RAYMOND, R-A-Y-M-O-N-D!!! What have you done to this? One of the worst front ends..looks at you cross-eyed, like an E-type that ran into a wall… WHY Raymond???
lol
Lets start a public competition for the best looking new frontend.
I remove the protruding wing edges, extend the turn signals on the
outside maybe 2-3cm backwards. Add a side marker like on the Saab
9-5 on the front wing.
Symmetric wheel arches, more round shaped outwards like on the Porsche
911 model F, gives more statement the car is strong. The sporty appeal.
The headlights and a front grill will be the most tricky part. Some thoughts:
Rectangular like the rear lights but larger (shure) with the same shape – why does still come me Saab in mind.. lol
Rear and front bumper at the same height – at the height of the side bend. Repeat the lower front grill above the front bumper. Two pieces. In black.
The rear lid edges just a little lower than the rear side line. And the rear bumper horns half their height but 1/3 wider. Front/rear equal ride height. Something like that.
This vehicle was the fastest production car in the world, proven at Utah’s Bonneville Salt Flats, any reference by any people that have no idea on what was designed into the Front, Top, and Rear for the “AVANTI’ should not critique this Master Piece, no more than to say the painting of “Madonna’ should have been with Blond or Red hair.
Russ, they did not “shift operations to Canada”, as such, but merely shipped all their Lark & similar parts to Canada so as to continue Canadian operations, which had existed for quite some time, beforehand.
Mitch, I would, and do, today, call it a trunk lid, as it does not have a window of any kind built in.
Why is it that, when one clicks the “Keep me in the conversation via email” link, nothing ever comes in?
Finally, it would be nice have a “thumbs up” link for all the great write-up authors.