Avanti Introduction

The 1963 Avanti was the last ditch effort of Sherwood Egbert (his real name) to rescue the faltering Studebaker. Once again, the company turned to its ace in the hole, stylist Raymond Loewy, to conceive a car that would miraculously turn things around. He rented a house in Palm Springs and there with three young designers and with missionary zeal embarked on creating something new and revolutionary. The result -- the Avanti, got attention but didn't save the company. Studebaker was gone three years later.

Category:

Autos & Vehicles

Tags:

• auto
• studebaker
• Avanti
• raymond loewy
• sherwood egbert

[EnryMusica]

Is that the model that inspired Bruno Sacco to design cars? Is there any documentary on Loewy ? Thanks !

[mrpitv]

@EnryMusica Our Great Cars episode on the Avanti covers his career but there isn't a documentary about him specifically that I know about.

[weekenddriver]

What a historic video. Shot in and around Palm Springs, where, of course Lowey and his team designed the car. Love the shots on the Palms to Pines Highway, which some might remember as the road in the opening of "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World." Too bad it didn't pull Studebaker out of its nosedive but the car did live on for another 35 years or so.

[mrpitv]

@weekenddriver I've never seen the Loewy house in Palm Springs but one of these days I'll have to make the trek. Thanks for your comment.

[Sarcasticscum]

What really would have helped Studebaker would have been for them to offer the Avanti to the upcoming James Bond: Goldfinger film, as Bond's car.. That might have brought them out of the hole, to have such a innovative car in such a popular movie..

[mrpitv]

@Sarcasticscum Interesting idea. They needed to sell a lot more cars. It was nearly impossible to compete with General Motors, Ford and Chrysler by that time. American Motors hung on for a few years (the merge of Nash and Hudson) but Studebaker was left out of that tie up and made a disastrous deal to acquire Packard. They never recovered but the Mercedes deal did eventually succeed. A bail out from Eisenhower kept them going for a few years but the Avanti was their Hail Mary pass.

[Lulu1235463]

@mrpitv love these stories about r. lowey designing the 1953 stuebaker and the avanti. know any other funny stories about who designed what. some of us that were there are still around

[CarCriticAssessor]

@jensen1971x: You're being too brutal there. Loved the Jensen, but sold it at a tidy profit, by happenstance. Nothing like that car ... turning radius was not all that great; but, the build finishes on the car eg, the bright door jams, the interior cosmetics, the walk-a-round points proved terrific. The Avantis -- despite going so far as to change every bolt & nut head to hex or other -- the car was, at best, an ill-conceived poorly, executed kit-car: they suck; forget tweaking!

[jensen1971x]

@CarCriticAssessor The Avanti II and the Jensen Interceptor were both junk and overpriced. Their only saving grace was the style. Cadillacs of the same period were built better.

[CarCriticAssessor]

@Mrtriumphchopper:Yeah, Jackie {screw the recent supercilious Franco "gentrification homage routine", 'sounds "politically correct" & bespeaks not so tacitly "gay gay gay" lisping: so lose it, FAST; okay [hatchet in hand]} pigeon-mated-to-turtle-faced gal, as she was known contemporaneously, took on her "later-day incarnation" (spent summers in eg, Newport, RI: no women spoke that way, in any social circle) creme-boules chatter, as a post-deb Marilyn Monroe boarding school hybrid enticement ploy

[CarCriticAssessor]

@Jaybird248: You said it! The chump was a monkey mucker, to say the least. He was the consummate "show boat con", whose "product" was often bested--except in the contemporaneous media and the inculcated "sycophants borne of academia's brainwashing" parroting what they "learnt about good design" in University or some tacky book, blindly embraced by newer generations--by other non-attention-whoring designers and design teams eg, anonymous "works for hire": get it? Loewy's designs, on-balance, suck

[CarCriticAssessor]

@silentagony: BRAKES: FYI, "its" = possessive form; "it's", w/ apostrophe indicates the CONTRACTION of "it is": get it? Learn it & assiduously apply it; especially, when trying to "correct" someone of my superior car criticism status :-) Your vociferous wrangling requires public corporal punishment. That said, "get off of the crucifix" ding-dong; there are a lot of museums, w/ a lot of fairies running them, whom hold other ideas about what screwdrivers do...not mechanical: get it? Avanti=0.

[CarCriticAssessor]

@jensen1971x: Dear Mind-Deficit, Screw your "Actually {you need a comma}, the Interceptor ....": I merely reference the Interceptor's biographical genesis to state the LITTLE KNOWN FACT THAT the Interceptors'--categorized as a donor car--power plants were CHRYSLERs. Having owned two "mint-original-custom" mega-'70's Avantis (shag Wilton rugs etc), and one Interceptor III: the superior build|beauty quality orbit of the latter prevailed. Jensens are regal & were cheap for their class!

[jensen1971x]

@CarCriticAssessor Actually the Interceptor was designed by "Vignale". And with a price equal to the contemporary Rolls Royce Shadow, it was far from affordable

[WickedTornado]

Thank you so much for taking the time to bring this to us! And, I've enjoyed the banter after the video almost as much. I'm 57 in a couple of days. It's strange, but ever since '63 I have always wanted an Avanti....actually I've kind of been a freak for them. None of my other buds growing up who had all the top of the line musclecars of the day (hell, even I had a Superbird / 440 auto) gave Avantis a sideways glance. What's a truly nice one with the Paxton bringing now...$30K? joel in tucson

[CRX1100]

My uncle has one. it has the optional supercharger. buts its been in pieces for the last 25 years.