Auto Show - Time Magazine, Friday, Apr. 13, 1962 –
Sherwood H. Egbert, president of
Studebaker, barreled down the test track at the company's South Bend plant one day last week in a sleek sports coupe, the likes of which no U.S. motorist has ever seen. Still shrouded in deep corporate secrecy, the new car was nonetheless already the talk of Detroit. Christened Avanti (Italian for "Forward"), it is finless, aerodynamically clean, and fast; it may well prove the most talked-of car turned out by any U.S. automaker since Ford Motor Co. introduced its first Thunderbird. Egbert turned to famed Industrial Designer
Raymond Loewy. Flying to California early in 1961 to meet Loewy, Egbert roughed out a small sketch. "I knew at once," says Loewy, "that we were on the same wave length."The Avanti, says Designer Loewy, "looks power." Its sloping, grill-less hood bears only single, recessed headlights, a single bar bumper, and a low-slung air scoop. Its high, rounded rump tucks under at the bottom like that of a rabbit in full flight and the waist of the car is slightly indented in coke bottle fashion — a design feature previously used only on supersonic jet fighters. Inside, reflecting Egbert's love of flying, the Avanti resembles a plush airplane with instruments set in neat, easy-to-reach groups, has two bucket seats in front, and a bucket bench for two in the rear. With a fiber-glass body mounted on a steel chassis and an engine of 300 h.p. or more, the Avanti will go from standing to 60 m.p.h. in a scant 6.7 sec.— a performance rivaling that of the hottest European sports cars.
Full Article Studebaker introduced the Avanti on April 26, 1962 at New York's International Automobile Show.
