Swan Song - Throughout 1961 the Studebaker Automotive Division was developing a new sportscar that would be named "Avanti" an Italian word that translates roughly as forward. New company president,
Sherwood H. Egbert, had been hired to rethink automotive production and instill the Studebaker corporate structure with new levels of diversification. Amazingly, Studebaker already owned Mercedes Benz, Trans International Airlines, and Gravely Tractors. Shown here are tabbed pages from a 1964 Studebaker Stockholders Report. Development of the new sportscar was a carefully guarded corporate secret that bred considerble speculation from the press and the public. Rumors of something big in the works spread rapidly as the car entered production and continued until its spectacular unveiling at the New York International Auto Show early in 1962.
