Icon of design: A brief look back at the Studebaker Avanti
Click the image above for more high-res pics.
During a recent excursion back east, we had the opportunity to be in the presence of one of the most iconic automobile designs of the 20th century: the Studebaker Avanti. Worshiped by some and derided by others, Raymond Loewy's masterpiece was two-and-half steps beyond anything produced in the '60s. The coupe's name itself means "forward" or "advance" in Italian, and whether you're smitten by the Avanti's aerodynamic styling or its innovative approach to safety, there's a little something for any purebred pistonhead.
This particular 1964 supercharged R2 example currently resides outside Pittsburgh, PA, under the watchful gaze of its owner, John Kudravy, who is a family friend, architect, design snob and devout worshiper at the altar of power and poise. He's owned the Avanti for going on two decades and after showing it at several events across the U.S., it's likely to be the best-kept Avanti in North America.
For a brief rundown on the Avanti, you can check out Wikipedia's entry here, along with a bio of Raymond Loewy here. And be sure to check out our 40-image-strong gallery below.
A special thanks to John for his time, expertise and patience, along with his early contribution to our obsession with all-things automotive.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Bill P. 8:15PM (6/21/2007)
As a designer myself, not of cars but of large yachts, I have never, ever, ever understood the appeal of this, one of the ugliset cars of all time. What the hell? There's not a coherent line or thought from the frightened front end through the sagging greenhouse and beyond.
Bill P.
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Don 4:08PM (6/22/2007)
I agree.
Ugliest. Car. Ever.
Ligor 8:49PM (6/21/2007)
i second that
UGLY doesn't even describe this horrific of a car design.
yikes
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Andy 9:08PM (6/21/2007)
Bill, you're not the only person who feels that way. The Avanti is still compared to Chevrolet's Corvette Sting Ray, as the cars debuted around the same time. The Avanti was fiberglass coupe and an unusual style compared to the geometrically plain American passenger cars of the period. The Avanti outlasted the Studebaker company, with incarnations of the car going on and off from the 1970s to the present day. Avanti Motors of Georgia produces coupes and convertibles in small numbers, even though the company's business state has been unstable.
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SherbornSean 9:32PM (6/21/2007)
Bill and Ligor,
I've never read a criticism of the Avanti; most people just assume it is very stylish. But now that I look at it, especially in this blue, I have to agree. Not a beauty so much, after all.
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ron 9:55PM (6/21/2007)
Are any of you guys old enough to remember this car when it first came out? It was an extremely polarizing vehicle back then - either you loved it or you hated it! At the time, to me everything else looked so pedestrian. I was a junior in high school and I positively lusted after the Avanti. That was more than 42 years ago; it may not look as fresh now, but back in '63 there was nothing else like it on the road!
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Frustrated Consumer 9:55PM (6/21/2007)
I think it's very handsome and has aged very well compared to some of it's rather bland contemporaries.
Personally I think that the '32 Ford Roadster is ugly as sin and has been played out far beyond it's expiration date. But different strokes for different strokes...
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Ted Kennedy Is My Chauffer 9:57PM (6/21/2007)
Raymond Lowey didn't design the Avanti, Tom Kellogg did. Lowey oversaw the Studebaker design team, but did not actually design the Avanti, nor the classic '53 Studebaker Champion / Commander, which was designed by Bob Bourke. Lowey often gets the credit for others' work. Bourke also designed the landmark '49 Ford, by the way.
As far as the design of the Avanti is concerned, you have to compare it to other vehicles of its' time. Whether one appreciates the styling or not is purely sibjective. For a vehicle to have remained in production with the same basic design for as long as the Avanti has (with obvious lapses in between runs), it can't be all bad.
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Bill P. 10:01PM (6/21/2007)
Actually, yes, it is all bad. For a car to be produced in such tiny numbers over so many decades, it can't be good. The Porsche 911 has been around as long and prospers to this day dispite its steep price tag.
Bill P.
www.classicyachtmag.com
Gary 10:32PM (6/21/2007)
It's obvious none of you were old enough to remember the impact of the Avanti had in September 1962 when it was arrived at the stodgy old Studebaker dealers. Belive me the Avanti was far better looking in real life than in the pictures... especially in maroon with the black or tan leather interior.
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Barney 10:22PM (6/21/2007)
I love the car. I like the unusual over the same everyday look. The interior is not the usual out-of-the-box look either. Studebaker cars, were not cars for those who like the ordinary.
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iQuack 11:48PM (6/21/2007)
The Avanti appeared when Studebaker was all but dead--a last ditch effort to create some buzz that never materialized.
The Studebakers of 1947 and 1953 were the great ones, but not all models of the '53 were especially beautiful. The coupe without the side pillar ("hardtop" as in hardtop convertible because the side windows opened fully from the "A" t "C" pillars) was one of the best designs ever IMO.
The 1947 Studebaker Starlight Coupe with a back window that wrapped around to the sides was another winner, and some of the sedans were classy--especially the large, Land Cruiser model.
The 1 millionth Studebaker was produced in 1950 which was the first of the bullet-nosed years ('50 and '51). Those were more a joke than good styling, but cars were hard to get after WWII, so people bought whatever they could.
The Avanti was a low-volume car that never was much of a real Studebaker. By the way, real Studebakers were generally terrible mechanically in the 1940s and later. Almost all until the mid-'50s blew a trail of blue oil burning smoke, chattering clutches, broken front leaf springs--yes, a transverse buggy spring across the front end (until 1950), etc., etc., etc............
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Ian 11:49PM (6/21/2007)
Unbelievable to read posts criticising this car. Have you ever seen one on the road? This design is near 50 years old yet it's simplicity and appeal is amazing. If you are a designer and deride this, I pity you.
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Bill 12:28AM (6/22/2007)
The Avanti is unique and I'm sure it was polarizing in 1963. The unrealized mid-60's design prototypes for the Studebaker lineup are interesting. I've always preferred the various Hawks of the 50's however.
I wasn't around in the 60's, but I think of a lot of cars that came out in the 80's that had a big design impact then but don't get too much respect or are misunderstood now. I was a young teen in 83, and I think thats about when the then-radical Thunderbird came out. People loved it or hated it, but everyone noticed it. Also the Taurus. Can't remember the name of the show, but there was a Fox Sci-Fi series, which was supposed to be set in the year 2000, and the cop cars were Tauruses because they were so futuristic then.
Things are a product of their time, and you while some things are "timeless", others you have to look at them in context. The Tulsa unearthing of the rusty Plymouth brought back my you fascination with the 57-58 Chrysler products (my fav was DeSotos of that period). My family was die-hard GM, and I just never understood the deification of the dumpy/frumpy 55 to 57 Chevys. The Chrysler stuff was just light years ahead.
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Phillip 6:17AM (6/22/2007)
Your thinking of one of the old terminator movies ;)
Joe K. 7:49AM (6/22/2007)
robocop used the taurus...
carguy49015 4:02PM (7/09/2007)
Robocop used Tauruses (Tauri?) as police cars.
hotstreak 12:28AM (6/22/2007)
Yea, I recently read an article about a couple that really hated their 63 Avanti. Here's the url: http://www.slate.com/id/2167797/
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JN 1:02AM (6/22/2007)
I've long been a Studebaker enthusiast, and while I'd personally rather have a Hawk than an Avanti, I marvel at what the design and engineering teams were able to do with a little bit of fiberglass and a whole lot of off-the-shelf parts. I believe a number of the speed records that the Avanti set at Bonneville from 1962 to 1964 still stand. It wouldn't surprise me; the cars may not have been perfect, but they were most definitely fast!
I've often wondered what the Avanti could have become had Studebaker just had the money to develop the car a little further. Yet another automotive "what might have been", I guess.
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Barney 1:59AM (6/23/2007)
"I've often wondered what the Avanti could have become "
It's still being made. Do a Google search. It's still looks as good and uses modern drive train.