Rumor has it that the Studebaker Avanti was conceived on the back of a cocktail napkin in 1961. And rushed into production in 1962. Unfortunately, the company’s weak finances never gave the car a chance to succeed, and it was gone by 1964 (the whole company was gone two years later). The seller has a 1963 edition with a Paxton supercharger, one of 1,552 produced that year (plus 290 more in 1964). This nice example has some new parts, but the brakes will require more work. Located in a garage in Stitzer, Wisconsin, this 4-speed rarity is available here on Facebook Marketplace for $22,000. A thumbs up to T.J. for the tip!
Studebaker head Sherwood Egbert was behind the notion that a unique personal luxury car like the Avanti could help save the company. If they could sell 20,000 of them a year, maybe Studebaker would have a solid future. To get it started, the decision was made to go with a fiberglass body, but troubles there hindered production, and only 3,800 Avanti’s were produced in 1963. Then, 800 more for 1964 until the company pulled the plug on all U.S. auto production, sealing the car’s fate at Christmas 1963.
We don’t know the history of this nice-looking gold Avanti except that it has only traveled 67,000 miles. Besides the supercharger that gets one horsepower out of every cubic inch (289), this car also has a 4-speed manual transmission. We assume everything here is numbers matching, and we’re told the car runs well. Stopping is the issue, and apparently, the seller isn’t interested in fixing them before selling the automobile.
The fiberglass body may be fine (limited photos), and the paint is in “phenomenal shape,” according to the seller. The carburetor has just been rebuilt, and new gaskets were applied to the oil pan. There’s mention of a new fuel pump, but we don’t know if it’s already been installed or is up to the buyer. The tires have plenty of life left. The interior appears to be in transition from gold to black. Are you a fan of the Studebaker Avanti?
Always liked these Avantis. And this seems the ideal setup to have. Love to take one for a boot. The 289 isn’t a Ford motor, I always thought it was…learned that here on BF.
Good eye T.J, nice write up Dixon.👍
Sadly not seeing a supercharger – nice they included the body serial # – the motor should have JT or in this case JTS on the engine pad…..
R2 Avanti has RS with number stamped on the front of the engine.
Supercharger is there–painted black. Kind of hard to see.
Timeless good looks (the originals) and high performance. An American Ferrari (almost). But fix the brakes and those black seats aren’t makin’ it!
Why is everybody complaining about the black seats? Black interior is correct–not the gold carpet.
I always thought it was the Gremlin was sketched on a napkin( a motion discomfort bag, actually), the Avanti was roughly drawn on a napkin, but was designed in Palm Springs. The back looked cool, but the front was the killer, I feel. Poor Avanti never had a chance.
Are you saying the front being the killer was a bad thing? Part of the unique design. Production delays was a big reason for lower-than-expected sales. The car was a success even if it didn`t save Studebaker from producing cars, they wanted to get out of that end of their business, but they diversified and stayed in business longer than people realize.
When the Avanti came out Studebaker touted its top speed, with an R2 allegedly going 178 mph in speed runs. The buzz among the 13-year old boys at Okemos Junior High was that it could beat a Corvette. Possibly. Who knew? We didn’t have the internet to fill our heads with ambiguous ‘facts’, we just had good old fashioned rumors.
Needless to say it was cool. But it never got the follow through, and barely 2 years later the Mustang exploded onto the scene, along with the GTO. Mix in the radically new Corvette Sting Ray and the Avanti never really had a chance.
It’s a shame really because Avantis still are cool with their innovative styling. In addition to the unique front end they featured a not-so-subtle forward rake that accentuated their aggressive stance. I also liked the wheel covers, too, even though Torq Thrusts were my ultimate rims of choice.
At the risk of sounding like an aging Boomer (who am I kidding? I AM an aging Boomer) my formative years from about 1950 to 1972 were arguably the greatest in US automotive history. As transportation modules cars are much better nowadays. Just ask any aging Boomer who ever stuck a screwdriver into the choke plate to start a flooded engine; or tried to figure out how to use a timing light and dwell tach. But we’ll never again experience the anticipatory excitement of model changeover again.
Ah yes. In the words of Joni Mitchell, that siren of the ’60s, “There’s something lost and something gained in living every day…”
I graduated from East Lansing High School in 1969. Went to look at these and pretty much all new cars with my Dad. Ive always liked the Avanti but got into GTOs. My friends dad was the manager at Pontiac dealer.
Could the ’63 ‘Vette beat an R2 Avanti? The answer is, not by much, and maybe not at all depending on the axle ratio
I used a clothes pin on the choke plate. Would spray too much ether in and get a tall flame and a bang to wake up the neighborhood
R2 Avantis don`t do 178 MPH. Specially modified R3s set all the high-speed Bonneville salt flat records.
I miss Studebaker (and the Avanti!)
It’s 1977 and I’m out of high school, lifeguarding at the pool. The really attractive blonde who was an upperclassman (upperclasswoman?) in high school dropped in to visit some of her pals. Funny, I can’t recall her name…but I sure remember the car. Her older boyfriend had tragically passed and the family sold the R2 Avanti he loved to her for the princely sum (at the time) of $1500. The deep burble from the exhaust remains etched in my brain.
Beautiful car. WHATS with those black seats? Studebaker should never have built this car. That money should’ve gone to a new generation of lark. By doing so, they might’ve survived a few more years. Who knows, maybe longer.
Avanti interiors were a mix-and-match affair, but I don’t believe that I’ve ever seen black seats in an interior that is otherwise beige, nor am I convinced that this car left South Bend with black seats. My guess is that the seats were worn and the owner, for some reason, chose to get black replacement upholstery rather than sourcing beige.
Wrong–black interior is correct option.
Probably not a winning strategy.
The Lark was facing new competition from the big three, the Falcon, Corvair, and Valium (sic) were slaughtering its sales
They felt they needed something distinctive, and the Avanti and the Excalibur (yes)!were proposed to bring traffic their showrooms
Both cars are based on the Lark Daytona Convertible chassis
The Valium? Love it! LMAO!
You take the Valium after the R2 speed test. Or maybe before?
They did, stylistically, with the 1964 models. The Daytona hardtop and convertible, in particular, were quite sharp and up to the competition.
and that Daytona Convertible’s chassis is the basis for the Avanti, and Brook Steven’s Excalibur!
Your opinion-can`t agree it shouldn’t have been built. They are beautiful cars. Black interior is correct option.
I was 14 in 1964 and will never forget how impressed I was with a fella down the street when he showed up with a R2 supercharged 4 speed Avanti. I was just falling head over heels in love with America muscle cars, and I clearly remember my big sister telling me that I was a fool for thinking that Studebaker was cooler than her boyfriends 63 1/2 427 4 speed Galaxie. Great time to be alive.
I wish it was closer ! Lovely! Some seat covers and the Studebaker Drivers club would complete the car.
Why complain about the seats? Black interior is correct.
So this must be a special Studabaker carburetor. All previous Paxton supercharger setups that I have seen were not your typical ” blow through” setups. They had the carburetors in a box. So that the whole inner and outer residence for the carb. was pressurized. As I had heard that blowing through was causing carburetor leaks through gaskets and vents. Anyone here know the carburetor improvements performed on these cars? Dad wanted one of these in the worst way. He ordered one and it was never built. I looked for one that I could afford for the longest time to give to him. But he passed away before I could manage that feat. The 4 speed in this car really makes it for me!
The trick is boosting fuel pressure when pressurizing carb. 5 psi into carb need 7-10 psi on fuel side to make it into carb!!
57 Golden Hawks have SC too!
Jeff, please respond: what is “SC”? is it abbreviation for SuperCharger? ray, owned and loved them.
Ok, I understand the fuel pressure part. (Makes sense) It doesn’t effect the float bowl/venting? A carb uses vacuum to operate. So pressure you would think would cause undesired effects.
R2 Avanti had sealed carb with bonnet cover attached to supercharger as pictured on this Avanti. R3 engines were in pressurized box and were also supercharged.
Wayne- On top of that, I don’t understand the need for more fuel pressure, either.
Yes. SuperCharged (SC) The blow through the top or carb in box makes the pressure ( while under boost) oppose the fuel pressure to float bowl. So they go like stink until bowl empty then fall flat. To over come and push fuel in there is a tiny line for SC to top of fuel pump to add pressure to spring netting addition fuel pressure under boost.
Another fun fact about the design:
As highway speeds increased, the vertical grilles on cars became more and more decorative. Not only is that a less than ideal place for an air intake, the aerodynamics were awful.
The Avanti design was one of the first to direct the air intake for the engine under the front bumper, eliminating the need for a big, chrome statement piece up front. The blank front end was not only for aerodynamics, it was a statement.
The big grilles on luxury cars (BMW, Mercedes, Rolls, Audi, Cadillac) are purely decorative, brand identitifiers, only, not functional air intakes…..
Air intake is under the bumper, ideal for sucking water into the engine, even from a shallow puddle.
some seem to be evolving into radar equipment.
Unfortunately, you could have EITHER a supercharger OR a/c, which we in Florida refer to as “Life Support,” especially with a black interior……….you can fry an egg or the skin of your thighs in the Summer!
Sale is pending, the ad says now. Good deal I think for buyer, though why would seller do all the engine work and not replace a rear brake hose?
The black interior is correct. They put incorrect gold carpet in. 22K is a good price for 4 speed R2- but where is the supercharger? They run about a grand to make it correct. Even with work needed it is a fair price especially if the paint is as good as stated. With a car this age just about everything needs to be gone through–what I did on my 63 R2.
Supercharger is there–painted black. Kind of hard to see.