May 1962 cover of Canada Track & Traffic Magazine.
May 1962 Canada Track and Traffic - The New Avanti
The New Avanti, an article from the May, 1962 issue of Canada Track & Traffic. What we refer to as Avanti's rake; they called a Nose-down attitude. “A potent new entry in the U.S. car market with performance that matches its glamorous appearance.“ Speculation automatically centered on Detroit's model-prolific Big Three last year when rumors of a new American sports-type car started circulating. But while Detroit fiddled South Bend burned the midnight oil.
The result: one of the U.S. industry's few authentic surprises of recent years, Studebaker's stunning Avanti. Work on the Avanti (Italian for “forward“) began in January of 1961 on the heels of Sherwood Egbert's appointment as Studebaker president. Tagged with the assignment of designing the new model was Raymond Loewy, creator of Studebaker's advanced 1953 line and one of America's foremost industrial designers. The Avanti was a crash program. Development work was still underway on prototypes when we visited South Bend in early April. While performance and certain other figures were unavailable, we did learn a fair amount from spins around the test track and from helpful Studebaker personnel.
Loewy's voluptuous Avanti body is fiberglass constructed by Molded Fiber Glass Company of Ashtabula, Ohio. With a limited production run (400 per month is the target) fiberglass is a sound economic proposition. And because the heavy Lark convertible X-frame chassis is used, the savings in weight becomes important. Pictures speak better than words, but the car's subtly curved lines come off even better in the flesh. Hardly noticeable in photos is the “Coke-bottle“ curve of the body sides, which viewed from directly above give the Avanti a pinched waist look. In design lingo it is referred to as the “O-Gee line“ found on certain jet aircraft.
The result: one of the U.S. industry's few authentic surprises of recent years, Studebaker's stunning Avanti. Work on the Avanti (Italian for “forward“) began in January of 1961 on the heels of Sherwood Egbert's appointment as Studebaker president. Tagged with the assignment of designing the new model was Raymond Loewy, creator of Studebaker's advanced 1953 line and one of America's foremost industrial designers. The Avanti was a crash program. Development work was still underway on prototypes when we visited South Bend in early April. While performance and certain other figures were unavailable, we did learn a fair amount from spins around the test track and from helpful Studebaker personnel.
Loewy's voluptuous Avanti body is fiberglass constructed by Molded Fiber Glass Company of Ashtabula, Ohio. With a limited production run (400 per month is the target) fiberglass is a sound economic proposition. And because the heavy Lark convertible X-frame chassis is used, the savings in weight becomes important. Pictures speak better than words, but the car's subtly curved lines come off even better in the flesh. Hardly noticeable in photos is the “Coke-bottle“ curve of the body sides, which viewed from directly above give the Avanti a pinched waist look. In design lingo it is referred to as the “O-Gee line“ found on certain jet aircraft.
Power is supplied by the 289 cu. in. Daytona V-8 engine supplied unsupercharged in the “R-1“ series and fitted with a Paxton-McCulloch centrifugal belt-driven supercharger in the high-performance R-2 series. Final brake horsepower and torque figures were not available at this writing since S-P engineers were still conducting engine tests. But compression ratio in the unsupercharged R-1 engine is 10.25 to 1 and in the R-2 is given as 9.5 to 1. The Daytona's engine's 3.56 x 3.25 bore and stroke will likely be retained, barring last-minute inspirations. Other R-1 and R-2 carry Carter 4-barrel carburetors and dual exhaust systems (on the prototypes we inspected, exhaust pipes the diameter of small cannons were fitted).
Three transmissions will be available; three and four-speed manual and three-speed automatic. Ratios on the floor-mounted four-speed transmission are given as 2.51 to one in first, 1.91 in second, 1.51 in third, and 1.00 in top. All four gears are synchronized. Rear axle ratio on the four-speed box .3.73, identical to that of the automatic transmission. Axle ratio on the three-speed manual setup is 3.31 with transmission ratios 2.57 to 1 in first, 1.55 in second, and 1 to 1 in top. A five-bladed, 17-in. dia. viscous fan cutting out at 2500 rpm is standard on both R-1 and R-2 models, as is an alternator. Suspension hews closely to familiar Studebaker practice – coil springs in front and semi-elliptic leaf springs at the rear. This system is assisted somewhat in the Avanti by use of a front-mounted anti-sway bar and radius rods at the rear, and by a general stiffening of ride which on our test runs indicated very negligible roll and decidedly un-American firmness.
Instrumentation is as lavish as any American car today. Seven gauges include speedometer, tachometer, water temperature, amps, oil pressure, and vacuum pressure. Overhead in a padded bar along the upper windshield ledge are buttons for lights, instrument lights, and heating and ventilation. Almost all edges are padded. Mounted on a low tunnel between the two front seats are toggle switches for other controls, either the automatic or manual transmission shift device, a large ashtray, and a console glovebox.
Front seats are true buckets as good as those in most sports cars and better than many. Rear seats continue the bucket motif in a bench design. A roll bar (padded) runs across the roof. Rear quarter windows pivot, and the quality of trim is most impressive. Rear seat comfort will undoubtedly come in for criticism, since with a relatively low seat and flat floor (due to the X-frame underneath which prohibits footwells) passengers will find their knees well up if anything over average size.
Studebaker's evident market target with the Avanti is the small but well-healed segment of buyers who want a personal or “prestige“ car with performance and style. The time and expense involved in designing a new car from the ground up were simply not available, and since the Avanti is a “personal“ rather than a sports car the necessity of providing a reasonably comfortable unit took precedence over sports car performance. Using Studebaker components no doubt will allow the Avanti to be sold at a far lower price than if it were all-new.
Performance at this writing can only be guessed, but Studebaker officials admit being happily surprised by the car's showings to date. A few runs around the 3-mile test track in the R-2 prototype saw 120 mph easily reached during our visit, without a limit being hit. Both from inside the car and watching it flash by us in corners, the Avanti appears to be capable of far more sports car performance than its U.S. “personal car“ competitors. When details are finalized there may be further surprises.
Studebaker isn't giving out any definite price figures but a company spokesman did narrow it down to between $4,000 and $4,500 in the U.S. The final say on the Avanti will be delayed until a production model is available for road test. But from our peek at it, this shapes up as a potent new entry in the U.S. car market whose performance may well match its glamorous appearance.
The most welcome surprise under the Avanti's skin appears in the braking department. Borrowing a note from their Mercedes-Benz ally, Studebaker engineers have fitted 11 1/2-in. dia. Dunlop caliper-type disc brakes to the front wheels. Eleven-inch drums are fitted at the rear. Standard steering ratio with cam and lever-type steering is 22 to 1 with five turns lock-to-lock. With the power steering option the ratio falls to 16 t0 1 and lock-to-lock is only 3 1/2 turns. Using the aforementioned Lark convertible chassis, wheelbase is 109 in. Overall length is 192 inches - 16 feet, hardly sports car size. But this is a 4-seater touring car above all else, and the sizeable Avanti engine compartment is well stuffed with plumbing. The prototypes we viewed were just that – working models still undergoing change, mechanically and in other departments.
Three transmissions will be available; three and four-speed manual and three-speed automatic. Ratios on the floor-mounted four-speed transmission are given as 2.51 to one in first, 1.91 in second, 1.51 in third, and 1.00 in top. All four gears are synchronized. Rear axle ratio on the four-speed box .3.73, identical to that of the automatic transmission. Axle ratio on the three-speed manual setup is 3.31 with transmission ratios 2.57 to 1 in first, 1.55 in second, and 1 to 1 in top. A five-bladed, 17-in. dia. viscous fan cutting out at 2500 rpm is standard on both R-1 and R-2 models, as is an alternator. Suspension hews closely to familiar Studebaker practice – coil springs in front and semi-elliptic leaf springs at the rear. This system is assisted somewhat in the Avanti by use of a front-mounted anti-sway bar and radius rods at the rear, and by a general stiffening of ride which on our test runs indicated very negligible roll and decidedly un-American firmness.
Instrumentation is as lavish as any American car today. Seven gauges include speedometer, tachometer, water temperature, amps, oil pressure, and vacuum pressure. Overhead in a padded bar along the upper windshield ledge are buttons for lights, instrument lights, and heating and ventilation. Almost all edges are padded. Mounted on a low tunnel between the two front seats are toggle switches for other controls, either the automatic or manual transmission shift device, a large ashtray, and a console glovebox.
Front seats are true buckets as good as those in most sports cars and better than many. Rear seats continue the bucket motif in a bench design. A roll bar (padded) runs across the roof. Rear quarter windows pivot, and the quality of trim is most impressive. Rear seat comfort will undoubtedly come in for criticism, since with a relatively low seat and flat floor (due to the X-frame underneath which prohibits footwells) passengers will find their knees well up if anything over average size.
Studebaker's evident market target with the Avanti is the small but well-healed segment of buyers who want a personal or “prestige“ car with performance and style. The time and expense involved in designing a new car from the ground up were simply not available, and since the Avanti is a “personal“ rather than a sports car the necessity of providing a reasonably comfortable unit took precedence over sports car performance. Using Studebaker components no doubt will allow the Avanti to be sold at a far lower price than if it were all-new.
Performance at this writing can only be guessed, but Studebaker officials admit being happily surprised by the car's showings to date. A few runs around the 3-mile test track in the R-2 prototype saw 120 mph easily reached during our visit, without a limit being hit. Both from inside the car and watching it flash by us in corners, the Avanti appears to be capable of far more sports car performance than its U.S. “personal car“ competitors. When details are finalized there may be further surprises.
Studebaker isn't giving out any definite price figures but a company spokesman did narrow it down to between $4,000 and $4,500 in the U.S. The final say on the Avanti will be delayed until a production model is available for road test. But from our peek at it, this shapes up as a potent new entry in the U.S. car market whose performance may well match its glamorous appearance.
The most welcome surprise under the Avanti's skin appears in the braking department. Borrowing a note from their Mercedes-Benz ally, Studebaker engineers have fitted 11 1/2-in. dia. Dunlop caliper-type disc brakes to the front wheels. Eleven-inch drums are fitted at the rear. Standard steering ratio with cam and lever-type steering is 22 to 1 with five turns lock-to-lock. With the power steering option the ratio falls to 16 t0 1 and lock-to-lock is only 3 1/2 turns. Using the aforementioned Lark convertible chassis, wheelbase is 109 in. Overall length is 192 inches - 16 feet, hardly sports car size. But this is a 4-seater touring car above all else, and the sizeable Avanti engine compartment is well stuffed with plumbing. The prototypes we viewed were just that – working models still undergoing change, mechanically and in other departments.