The Studebaker Avanti was born in a two-room house in
Palm Springs, California in March 1961.
Raymond Loewy put John Ebstein in charge of the Avanti project. John Wilhelm Ebstein was born in Stettin, Germany, on May 14, 1912. He began his architectural studies in Stuttgart, then fled the country by motorcycle with his possessions strapped to his back when Hitler assumed power in 1933. He continued his studies in Paris and Prague, where he earned an architectural degree. He immigrated to the United States in 1938 and joined
Loewy Associates the same year. The
Studebaker Avanti was one of John Ebstein's most important contributions to automotive design. Ebstein worked with
Tom Kellogg to do most of the drawing while
Robert Andrews built clay models and worked on the interior. In just two weeks, they had completed an initial design, which included air-brushed paintings by Ebstein, to present to Studebaker. Ebstein accompanied Loewy to the White House in the early 1960s to discuss the Air Force One design with President John F. Kennedy. In 1963 he resigned from Loewy's group so he could spend more of his time on designing and less on administration. He joined Gabriel Industries as chief designer and patented many toys and sporting goods. In late 1994 or early 1995 he designed the logo used by the Florida chapter of the
Avanti Owners Association International the chapter named in his honor.
Hemmings Classic Car Article
