The Studebaker Avanti was designed in 1961 in a house forming part of a tract housing development in the
Palm Springs desert.
Raymond Loewy leased this two-room building as a place for the designers he had selected as colleagues to work and sleep. Loewy and his family lived nearby in a house built in 1946-47 that was designed by local architect Albert Frey. Loewy's design team consisted of experienced designers and former Loewy employees,
John Ebstein and
Bob Andrews, as well as a young student
Tom kellogg from Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. The team gathered in Palm Springs in this desert studio leased solely for the purpose of developing the new car design. Each team member had a role: Andrews and kellogg handled the sketching, Ebstein oversaw the project, and Loewy served as the creative director.
Birth of Avanti by Loewy
