Results 1 to 2 of 2

Thread: Studebaker Avanti

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Apr 2003
    Location
    Rozenburg, Holland
    Posts
    27,329

    Studebaker Avanti

    The ailing Studebaker company needed something of an image booster at the beginning of the sixties and for this they went back to Raymond Loewy, a name connected with the company since the introduction of the ground breaking Champion, introduced in 1946. In six months time he now designed a four seat two door coupe, on the basis of a Studebaker Lark chassis. The Lark was introduced in 1959, during the first post-war wave of US compact cars.

    The name chosen for the new car was Avanti, reflecting the leap forward that Studebaker expected from the new car. It’s body was made of fiberglass and initial production and quality problems meant that the introduction had to be postponed for about 6 months until late 1962. Original introduction was scheduled for the 1962 Indy 500. The delay in the introduction resulted in the cancellation of a number of advance orders, which also contributed heavily to the ultimate commercial failure of the car.

    The base motorisation was the Jet Thrust V8 in 4.7 liter shape, but there were some interesting options incase one wanted more power. First there was Paxton Supercharger for the 4.7 litre engine, increasing power from 240 to 290 BHP. Then there was a 5.0 liter version of the Jet-Thrust V8, where the Paxton supercharger gave up to 335 BHP. A special 4-barrel carb version of this engine was also available, giving 280 BHP. Topping the range was the R5 version which sported two Paxton superchargers, and produced 535 BHP. This engine was only supplied via Paxton itself.

    Although attracting considerable interest and positive reviews, the Avanti could not prevent the demise of the American Studebaker factory in 1964 with all production shifting to Canada. The end came in 1966. Production of the Avanti stopped in 1964, and only 4643 cars were made.

    After that several attempts were made to continue the Avanti production, and for some time the Avanti II was available, and other offshoots, well into the nineties.

    Shown here is a 1963 example that has been in Holland for all of its life, and I personally remember having seen it very soon after it came here. It was now present at the American Classics show, a support event to the 2006 Concours d’Elegance at Palace Het Loo.
    Attached Images Attached Images
    "I find the whole business of religion profoundly interesting, but it does mystify me that otherwise intelligent people take it seriously." Douglas Adams

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Mar 2004
    Location
    Eindhoven, The Netherlands
    Posts
    7,833
    I have two pictures to add to this They were both taken at the same event as mentioned by Henk4, with my Fuji Finepix S5600.
    Attached Images Attached Images

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Similar Threads

  1. Studebaker President 1956
    By henk4 in forum Classic cars
    Replies: 0
    Last Post: 10-31-2006, 08:17 AM
  2. Studebaker Daytona Cabriolet 1964
    By henk4 in forum Classic cars
    Replies: 0
    Last Post: 10-25-2005, 10:25 AM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •