Studebaker, as a company, saw both a dramatic rise and a catastrophic fall. A perfect summary of the company’s history can be understood by looking at the Studebaker Avanti. The originally German company came to the USA in the 1740s, producing wagons and farm equipment. After scoring multiple defense deals, Studebaker shifted into the automobile industry with the launch of their first car in 1902.
Soon, the company became renowned for its quality and reliability in the sector and saw huge success, both financially and technologically. But, tragically, by the 60s, the carmaker lost most of its appeal as their competitors like Ford and Chevy gained mainstream status in the country. To ignite a fire in the consumers’ hearts again, Sherwood Egbert, the erstwhile President of Studebaker, employed Raymond Loewy to design the Avanti. Avanti, which is the Italian for ‘forward,’ was, much like its name, way ahead of its time in more than just one way.
The Studebaker Avanti managed to smash 29 production car records and became the fastest globally in its limited production run.
Performance As A Priority
When it came to raw power, the Studebaker Avanti was the one car everyone looked up to. With a 4.7-liter V8 ‘Jet-Thrust’ engine, this 4-seater GT could pump out a staggering 289 HP and achieve a top speed of 171 mph with much ease. This chrome-plated engine was able to accelerate the car from 0-60 mph in just 5.8 seconds.
The Avanti’s engine was given three variations. Two of them were the R1 and R2, which came with a supercharger. The third variation with the R3 engine had two superchargers but was specifically for the race tracks. The drivetrain further had options for a 3-speed or a 4-speed manual transmission with a unique second gear pickup feature. This meant that the first gear could be skipped while accelerating from zero quite smoothly at the cost of minimal wear and tear in the gearbox.
This was an excellent feature considering that Studebaker always kept performance and track racing as priorities. These priorities were also reflected in the many unique and ingenious design choices which ensured an optimal effective power output.
The Sleek Coke Bottle Design
The chassis of the Studebaker Avanti looked gorgeous and had a host of features that looked good and were built to enhance usability and performance. The sturdy coke-bottle design was something that most people noticed at first glance. This shape made the car aerodynamic and reduced the drag and heat coefficients of the chassis. On the front of the Avanti, the razor fender enhanced the vehicle’s style and concealed the air inlet under the bumper of this grille-less car. The car had unique headlights, which added to its beauty and gave it a distinct look and feel.
The entire chassis was built with fiberglass, which despite being very light, was sturdy, making the Avanti a lightweight machine, weighing in at 3,195 lbs. The wheel arches also gave this car a muscular look. On the rear, the car featured a massive back window much like the Corvette and a spacious boot. Peculiarly enough, the boot could also be accessed from the rear passenger seats through a lid placed under the window. Both the doors on the Avanti had hard-steel latches for added safety of the passengers.
The pleated leather seats and the pleated headliner ultimately represented the styling of the 60s. This rooftop also had an internal roll bar for additional safety by making the chassis sturdier. In addition, the Avanti was the first American production car to feature modern disc brakes and it also featured double-wishbone suspension.
While the Avanti may have seemed like a fantastic sports car, it somehow was not appealing enough, and in reality, even its great features failed to uplift the Avanti from the disintegrating remains of Studebaker.
An Unfortunate Run
Studebaker suffered a series of misfortunate dealings leading up to the release of Avanti. In an already saturated market of Ford and Chevy, the Avanti competed with iconic cars like the Riviera, Thunderbird, and the Corvette. Even though it reached from ideation to the beginning of production in an unnaturally fast five months, in 1963, the production team took a lot of time due to the complexities and constant revisions of the design team.
This was a significant reason why the initial goal of 20,000 units was never met, and only 1,200 1963 Avanti's made it to customers. This urged the buyers to withdraw their orders, resulting in the production of the 1964 Avanti halting at just 809 units. Soon after this, Studebaker shut completely, with the Avanti’s design rights being purchased by several manufacturers over the years, yielding little to no success in the market.
A classic Studebaker Avanti in good condition is currently priced at $70,000-$100,000, which can be bought exclusively through private channels and can be termed a huge undermining of the car’s true worth. Nevertheless, the car’s remaining fanbase and automobile historians hope that someday the general public and the industry may recognize Avanti’s actual worth for its rarity and fantastic build.