1963 Studebaker Avanti "Bonneville Record Breaker"

[IwontConform]

where was the avanti built? how many were produced? i always wanted one of these distinctive automobiles.

[OsbornTramain]

@IwontConform Avanti's were produced by Studebaker at the South Bend Indiana plant. for years 63 and 64, only 4 to 5 thousand were produced in total (which have had an incredibly large survival rate). When Studebaker announced in the November of 63 that they were shutting South Bend down and focusing all production of cars in their Hamilton Ontario plant, the Avanti was discontinued. From 65 to 07 from 0 to a 150 or so cars were produced per year under various ownerships.

[505197]

My dad loved Avantis but they never really flipped my switch. It's a shame Studebaker went the way of so many old car companys, they did make some fine cars and break some ground in perfornace. I liked the Hawks myself, and the model so popular for the flats...now that was one damn good lookin style. The avanti was too odd for my taste. If I owned one I'd probably change my tune lol.

[motorcycleresto]

This very car now lives on the lower mainland in BC. Has not been on the road since 1990. Verified by the build slip and was one of 3 Avanti's tuned by the Studebaker Engineering Dept for Bonneville

[topdog25608]

That rescue vehicle is a Cadillac

[5610winston]

Check out the late-'50s Studebaker-Packard emergency response vehicle at 3:25.

Can you imagine what the salt is doing to the hog troughs?

[FriendlyDriver]

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[evenlaterapex]

The Due Cento did not reach expectations and body panels and rear tire spats were changes around ( Aeor back then was cut and paste) and Andy finaly ran 194.12 but as I remember that was only one way so no record just time only. 12 cars were prepped by Granateli for the '64 do. even a six cylinder Lark. (Ha!). USAC did the timing and scoring. Motors had some leeway internally.

[evenlaterapex]

Cages for all the cars were a work of art by the GRANCO shop in West L.A. All the tubing was crackle finish black and all bolt together. Sudebakers last harrah.....I was there.

[evenlaterapex]

Well some things get lost in time....the 1973 model year B'ville exercise was the prelude for the 1964 M.Y. on the salt flats. October 14th 1963 salt conditions were wet and slick all week. Sears Allstate tires for all the cars. Continued....

[MadisonRvrGurl1]

the holidays are coming up, are you ready for your special present, wink 8)

[xtremefight]

Utah = Strange

[vampov]

If you mean a state that loves motor-sports racing, outdoors sports, mt and road biking, climbing, skiing, shooting and hunting then yes Utah is very strange.

[53champion]

very impressive for the time in history

[54spiritedwill54]

Fantastic sound! Really cool video

[r5duecento]

The R5 Avanti was not an R4 engine. It was a modification of the R3 engine using a Bendix-Novi fuel injection unit feeding dual Paxton blowers into a custom build intake manifold built by the Granatelli's.

[r5duecento]

The car if the "DUE CENTO", not Due Centro. This error was published in one of the automobile magazines and has caused alot of confusion within the ranks.

[r5duecento]

The film is a wonderful promotional film, however the car shown in most of the film is a production car used to create a reinactment of the Bonneville accomplishments. Notice that it did not have a rollbar installed. It is shown at the end of the film where the cars are parked and Andy is filmed beside the car. Also, the "wonderful" shot at the end of the film, which is a bit hazy, is the REAL DEAL!

[OsbornTramain]

Not sure I agree here, all Avantis had roll bars. If you look at the interior of an Avanti, it has a roll bar built into the roof and covered with padding. I own one so I know this is true. The whole point about this promotion was that the car was indeed "stock", unmodified, un changed. That's point of the record. This class recored is for cars that are driven off the show room floor.

[r5duecento]

The rollbar in an Avanti is more of a safety hoop than it is a rollbar and is not sanctioned as a rollbar in any competition events. The car did indeed qualify as a Stock car, however it was modified as it had the Prototype R3 engine (299 cubic inches) in it when it set 29 records. If you look closely at the film you will see the rollbar in the real car, actually it is a full rollcage. I have owned the Due Cento since 1968 and am therefore familiar with which shots are the real deal.

[lenyo123]

@OsbornTramain  All Avantis had rollbars lol The only way the car can be jigged was with the rollbar. It just doesnt look like the typical rollbar your use to seeing.

[Eldo850]

The R4 powered Avanti they called "Duo Centro" managed around 196mph. :)

[vettefreak90]

Well, technically, yes. The only reason it didn't break the 200 mph mark is because it couldn't gain enough traction, not because of engine limitations.

[Domes1947]

Wouldn't it be interesting to duplicate this feat today with modern tires and see if they couldn't go way over 200...as vettefreak90 pointed out...this was a tire problem, not the car. There was one "unofficial" run of over 205.667 done with the Avanti, but, it was never sactioned...this was running the 304 engine.

[mbstude]

Excellent video! Thanks for posting it. :-) Having riddin in a R3 and a R4 Avanti a few times, they really are amazing cars! They are capable of things that a R1 or R2 just cannot do!

Something isn't right, if the window really was down at those record-breaking speeds, the back glass would've popped out. :-)

And as far as the car being 'factory stock', well, not ALL the Avanti's had a Granatelli "massaged" R3 under the hood... ;-)

MB

[coopermania74]

On my opinion, one of the best car produced in the U.S.A.. In Italy there are only 2 Avantis, only one supercharged. Very rare in Europe too. I wanna one! ! !

[OsbornTramain]

I use to live in Switzerland and belonged to the Swiss Avanti Owners Association. We made a trip once as a group back in 1998 with our Avantis down to Italy. I don't recall the mans name but he did own an Avanti and lived in Italy. I did get to see one of them. I might even have pictures of it somewhere :O)

[wtmayhew]

I think the Avanti you saw in Italy may be in my driveway now. My 1963 R2 was exported directrly from the factory to Trieste, Italy according to the original build sheet. The paperwork I have also shows the Avanti moved to Switzerland for several years before coming back to the US in about 2007.

The person in Italy who ordered the Avanti must have aspired to be a drag racer becasue the car was ordered with a 4.09 ratio differential, no power steering and no radio. It is still a great car.

[matts242424]

168mph in a stock car from the period??? OMG

[4pointedstar]

Outstanding! Great vid and perhaps the greatest and most original car the world has ever seen!

[zappatx]

Proude to be a new Stude owner!!

[Terraplane34]

Fantastic sound of the stude v8 loved it

[TANGIWHI]

I want one

[Drivermatic]

Really cool video and fantastic picture quality!