Studebaker in-house designers, led by Robert Doehler, made significant contributions to the Avanti final design. The 1/8 scale clay was shipped back to South Bend, Indiana for Doehler and his Studebaker styling crew to begin work on a full-size clay version. Randall Faurot, chief of Studebaker's in-house styling division, had assigned Doehler to do the actual work entailed in developing Loewy's one-eighth scale model Avanti into a full-size prototype. The process was directed by Doehler, who was also in charge of the interior design. The first full-size clay, further refined by Doehler was ready for Sherwood Egbert (who owned a 300SL Gullwing) to present to the board on April 27 and was quickly approved for production. Bob Doehler eventually became a Mercedes distributor in the U.S. He assembled a 300SL gullwing by purchasing each and every part for it from Mercedes Benz.
The Story of the Zero Mileage 300SL Gullwing
