Avanti Current Year

Years–2009, Before and Beyond

Interest in this remarkable car continues to grow with every passing year and 2008 will be no exception. The Studebaker Avanti will be 46 years old in 2008 and remains one of the most revered of all classic cars. Restored Avantis look as new in 2008 as they did back in the summer of 1962. Though rare and often found undriven for years, market values for unrestored Avantis remain amazingly low. Fully restored vehicles, though rarer and more costly, remain remarkably good buys. For current Avanti prices check out the classified section or visit AOAI (Avanti Owners Association International) chat group. Avanti Motor Corporation has continued to build small numbers of the Ford Mustang based Avanti throughout 2007 and we expect production to continue into 2008. In these beautifully rendered scenes a 1963 Studebaker Avanti is shown in Palm Springs in its golden age.

1961 – 1962 Sherwood Egbert's inspiration and Raymond Loewy's masterpiece
1961 Egbert envisions a sports/luxury vehicle to boost Studebaker's image
1961 Loewy assembles Avanti design team in Palm Springs, California in March
1961 Full-size clay mock-up presented to Studebaker board in April '61
1962 Avanti debuts at the New York International Auto Show in April '62
1962 R-3 driven by Andy Granatelli at Bonneville shatters 29 U.S.records
1962 Avantis arrive in Studebaker showrooms summer of '62

1963 – 1964 Studebaker Avanti
1963 Studebaker manufactures 4647 Avantis from June '62 to December '63
1963 '64 model is built from August to December '63, but there is some overlap
1963 The glory ends prematurely as engineers struggle to fix bugs
1964 Nathan Altman purchases all rights, equipment, and parts

1965 – 1982 Avanti Motor Corporation – Avanti II
1965 Avanti Motors press release issued Monday August 2, '65
1965 45 new Avanti II's are produced as 66 models
1968 100 cars built for Avanti II's third model year
1973 10th anniversary generates national publicity
1976 Nate Altman dies leaving his brother Arnold in charge of the company
1982 Stephen Blake purchases Avanti Motors on October 1, '82

1982 – 1985 Avanti Motor Corporation – Stephen Blake
1983 Contoured, body-colored bumpers replace chrome ones
1983 Limited Edition 20th Anniversary car introduced
1984 Limited Edition Touring Coupe introduced
1984 First prototype convertibles produced
1985 Blake files bankruptcy in October

1986 – 1988 New Avanti Motor Corporation – Michael Kelly
1986 No '86 cars produced
1987 Limited Edition Luxury Sport Coupe (LSC) introduced
1987 Production moved from South Bend to Youngstown, Ohio

1989 – 1991 Avanti Automotive Corporation – John J. Cafaro
1989 Four-door sedan unveiled at the New York Automobile show
1991 Avanti production ends after 29 years

1992 – 1999 AVX – Jim Bunting
1993 Tom Kellogg submits designs for an Avanti AVX
1996 First one-of-a-kind AVX shown at Studebaker meets
1997 Production prototype shown at Avanti meet in South Bend

2000 – 2008 Avanti Motor Corporation – Michael Kelly
2000 John Seaton and John Hull form Avanti Motor Corporation with Michael Kelly
2001 A 2001 Avanti is produced in Villa Rica, Georgia from GM chassis
2003 Avanti Motors introduces Studebaker XUV at the Chicago Auto Show
2004 Introduction of a 2005 model Avanti using a Ford chassis
2005 Avanti Motors' 2006 through 2008 models