The Avanti was a great last chance for the independent car company Studebaker. Only 1833 289-cubic-inch V-8 R2 cars with a supercharger were made. This sale with no hold ends on July 5. The Studebaker Avanti looks strange because it doesn’t have a nose, but the story of how it came to be is fascinating. Instead of putting into action a risky plan, he drew up a cocktail napkin on a cross-country trip, Studebaker’s new president, Sherwood Egbert, bet that the company would stop making cars and only make trucks. The design team quickly finished the vehicle while renting a house in Palm Springs. Even though the result was excellent, it wasn’t enough to save the company. Bring A Trailer, part of Hearst Autos like Car and Driver sells this well-kept and turbocharged Studebaker Avanti R2. First, a quick history lesson. In the 1950s, General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler tried to buy Studebaker. This put Studebaker in the middle. When the 1960s started, Studebaker was barely holding on while the big players in the American car business battled it out. Even though the company merged with Packard, it was on the verge of going bankrupt. Sherwood Egbert was a Major in the US Marine Corps before he retired. Egbert was as rough as they come, even though his name was “Accountant,” and he had served in the South Pacific during WWII. Since McCullough Motors, where Egbert worked, was owned by Packard, he was able to help lead Studebaker through the Packard merger. McCullough Motors had a division called Paxton Automotive that made superchargers. This division is still around today and makes chainsaws (and is now a part of Husqvarna). Even though Egbert had never driven a car before he started working at Studebaker, he took the wheel with both hands. After being sure there was a small, high-end four-seater market, he gave Raymond Loewy, Tom Kellog, Bob Andrews, and John Ebstein 40 days to build a car. The youngest of the four, Kellog, went on to design the first Star Trek ship. The Avanti was an improved version of the Lark, the car Studebaker made before the Avanti. Consider a four-seat Corvette. The same company that made ‘Vette’s body parts in the 1950s made the body. The Studebaker Hawk’s V-8 engine with 289 cubic inches was also used. Thanks to the Paxton link, it only costs $210 to add a blower to the engine. The Avanti was a good performer for a starting price of just over $4000. When the extra supercharger is added to this 1963 model, the V-8 engine makes a good 290 horsepower and 303 pound-feet of torque. This Avanti Red coupe would have stood out in the day because it had a limited-slip differential, a three-speed automatic engine, and excellent features like power steering and electric windows. It’s still happening. Only 1832 R2 models from 1963 and 1964 were made, making it a rare and valuable machine. Again, the draw is evident when you compare it to a Corvette with more features. In 1963, when not enough Avantis were sold, Egbert’s plans fell through. In 1962, he was told he had cancer and died that same year. But while this car was built in August 1962, three supercharged Studebaker Avantis launched at the Bonneville Salt Flats and set 29-speed records for production cars. The following year, the Avanti, serial number R1007, the world’s fastest factory car, set a speed record of 170.81 mph. The light on the original Avanti was bright but short. And this example from the early 1960s has retained its attitude.
