Sad day for Avanti owners, last designer dies

Last week we lost the last member of the four-man design team responsible for the Avanti, John Ebstein. John worked for Raymond Loewy, helping design everything from the Lucky Strike logo to streamlined locomotives. In 1961, Loewy was asked to create a sports car that would bring Studebaker back from the brink. Loewy placed John Ebstein in charge and hired Tom Kellogg to draw and Robert Andrews to build scale models. The design team was "locked" in Palm Springs, CA bungalow to dream the design. Loewy, of course, would keep them to his vision of a forward-thinking, clean sports car. Mr. Ebstein will be missed in the automotive world. Picture shows (left to right) Tom Kellogg, Raymond Loewy, Bob Andrews and John Ebstein in front of the rented house where the Avanti was born.