1963 Studebaker Avanti – Auction Car of the Week

‘Avanti’ is the Italian word for ‘forward’ and it’s a fitting epithet for a car that looks like it’s pushing on even when standing still, slicing through the air like a knife through butter, and Studebaker would lean into this ideology by marketing the Avanti with the bold claim of “the world’s fastest production car”, a claim that it would very much back up with real world performance.

Models like the Corvette from Chevrolet, as well as Ford’s Thunderbird proved that there was a market for stylish, sporty cars (two characteristics that the Avanti has in spades) and a struggling Studebaker wanted in on the action, hoping that its newly-designed, personal luxury coupé could turn things around for what was a rapidly declining company at the time.

Spearheading the project was the wonderfully named Sherwood Egbert. The newly appointed president of Studebaker immediately set about tackling the rather mammoth job of rejuvenating the company in order to bring in some much needed cash with the vain hope of rekindling the fortune and glory of the firm’s past.

Sketching his idea for a new car, Egbert would hand his drawings to renowned designer Raymond Loewy who assembled a team and quickly set to work creating a clay mock up of what would become the Avanti. Desperate to get something out the door the Studebaker execs immediately green lit the project and the car went into production in ’62.

The design and body – manufactured in fibreglass rather than steel in an attempt to reduce costs – may have lived up to the car’s namesake but the mechanicals were decidedly backward. Based upon the Lark’s ageing chassis and featuring the 240bhp, 4.7-litre V8 from the Hawk, as well as other various bits and bobs that Studebaker had laying around the factory, the Avanti wasn’t a particularly advanced car underneath its somewhat space-aged body, but boy did it look good.

As any budding magician will tell you, there’s a lot to be said for misdirection and the wand wavers at Studebaker concentrated on the car’s sleek design and high speed credentials when it came to selling the thing rather than its dated underpinnings, although to be fair it was the first American-built production car to feature disc brakes. Those fastest production car claims mentioned earlier were backed up by numerous speed records set by the Avanti at the Bonneville Salt Flats which helped drum up interest in the car (especially the 289bhp Paxton supercharger-equipped version) with plenty of orders being placed, but ultimately the new Studebaker was let down by poor build quality.

Production of the fibreglass bodies had been outsourced to the company responsible for the Corvette’s panels who, as it turns out, had no experience of building complete shells and the first Avanti bodies suffered from quality control issues with panel gaps to rival Arizona’s Grand Canyon. This blunder put extra strain on Studebaker as it was forced to move production in house but the damage had already been done and many orders were cancelled as a result.

By this point the public had gotten wind of Studebaker’s troubles and with many car buyers not wanting to touch any new models with a barge pole for fear of being left with a car in limbo, the Avanti would end up sounding the death knell for the company.

What that means for us classic car fans today, however, is that due to there only being a few thousand ever made, the Avanti is an incredibly exclusive car that looks just as good now as it did over 60 years ago. With a similar format to the later Mustang the Avanti is a much more visually striking alternative to Ford’s iconic Pony car while still featuring many of the characteristics that made Lee Iacocca’s creation so popular.

The example we have available via our auctions platform is a 1963 R1 model, which means power comes courtesy of the 4.7-litre, normally aspirated Studebaker Hawk V8, in this instance mated to a three-speed manual gearbox, but it’s the spec list where this particular car shines. The original owner in California must have run out of ink in the pen used to tick the options sheet because it’s all there. From air conditioning and a limited slip diff to electric windows and pop-up vanity mirror it’s a long and distinguished list topped off nicely by a gorgeous set of Cragar chrome wire wheels.

Imported from the Golden State last year the car has spent its entire life in a dry, sunny climate, meaning it remains solid and incredibly well-presented. Upon arrival to the UK the car was treated to a complete overhaul of the electrical system as well as a brake service meaning it’s now ship shape and ready for its next adventure.

A stunning piece of design and unlike anything else on the road today this original and beautifully preserved Avanti harks back to a bygone era when individuality was not only celebrated but positively encouraged. In a sea full of boring, identical econoboxes dare to ride the wave of individuality and buy this wonderful, wonderful car.

Head on over to the listing for the full run down and a slew of gorgeous pictures before chucking in your bid. Avanti!