Who knows what this is?

"Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh" (andymcbradleigh)
10/07/2017 at 18:46 • Filed to: None

DISCUSSION (25)

fhrblig > Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh
10/07/2017 at 18:50

Studebaker Avanti

BritishLeyland™ > Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh
10/07/2017 at 18:50

Studebaker Avanti. Glass fiber body. Ian Fleming, the writer of the original James Bond novels had one.

Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh > fhrblig
10/07/2017 at 18:53

Spot on..

Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh > BritishLeyland™
10/07/2017 at 18:53

Well. with a name like yours I’d expect nothing less ;P But spot on.

Steve in Manhattan > Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh
10/07/2017 at 19:01

Just ask the ghost of Raymond Loewy .

Mini Guy- Now has a 4Runner > Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh
10/07/2017 at 19:02

Studebaker avanti

for Michigan > Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh
10/07/2017 at 19:05

There’s an Avanti for sale at a local used car lot. It stands out from their crowd of Chrysler Crossfires.

Tristan > Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh
10/07/2017 at 19:07

1963 Studebaker Avanti R1. Sketched on a napkin by Sherwood Egbert, and brought to design fruition by Raymond Loewy. I am quite familiar with these, I have driven one (with supercharged R2 power!), and they are on my list of cars I’ll buy when I’m a millionaire.

ranwhenparked > BritishLeyland™
10/07/2017 at 19:13

Fleming had a thing for Studebakers, he featured one of Bill Frick’s Studillacs in Diamonds are Forever, described it in enough detail to make it clear he had first hand experience with one.

Boxer_4 > Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh
10/07/2017 at 19:15

Kinja'd!!!

I saw one today, actually.

average user > Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh
10/07/2017 at 19:19

It’s an avanti. Studebaker made it and then a bunch of people made them under license. This one is the original version judging by the chrome bumpers.

fhrblig > Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh
10/07/2017 at 19:21

One of my favorite classic car designs.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh
10/07/2017 at 19:23

GM 350 SB V8 ( I think ) and Turbo Hydramatic transmission.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > fhrblig
10/07/2017 at 19:24

You know, it’s weird. Compelling, though.

Tristan > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
10/07/2017 at 19:34

Studebaker 289 and Borg Warner automatic with Powershift. 2 different supercharger configurations and a 4 speed manual were also available. Of course, this was only for 1963-4. After the death of Studebaker, the Avanti was revived as the Avanti II. They were all SBC/TH350 equipped.

John Norris (AngryDrifter) > Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh
10/07/2017 at 19:38

Everyone old enough and into cars in the 60's and 70's knows. It was in magazines and advertisements everywhere in the mid to late 60's. Not many were sold of course but it looked pretty space age compared to a 1963 Valiant, Falcon, or Nova.

wafflesnfalafel > Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh
10/07/2017 at 19:48

I kinda like the later ones with the squarish headlights better. I worked with a lady who had a couple of these and was a member of a local Avanti club. They were kind of a Corvette alternative though with an emphasis more on style and luxury than pure performance.

arl > Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh
10/07/2017 at 19:56

Standard industrial building with aluminum door frames and brick facade. Probably built in the late 1970's. And some obnoxious Studebaker Avanti owner had parked like an asshat right in front of the entrance!

Die-Trying > Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh
10/07/2017 at 20:16

i like the chrome on the older ones, but i like the later square headlight with covers a little bit better......

Kinja'd!!!

BIGBLOCK472 - wide and bizarre > Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh
10/07/2017 at 20:23

I saw a silver Avanti in my podunk town a few weeks ago. My first ever.

nafsucof > Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh
10/07/2017 at 21:01

I do.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Tristan
10/07/2017 at 21:35

So I was correct, but had the wrong car?

Tristan > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
10/07/2017 at 23:36

Yes...ish? The one in the pic is a ‘63, so it’s 100% Stude. If it had square headlights (as opposed to the round lights in a square bezel like the also-Stude ‘64) then it would be a post-Studebaker Avanti II powered by a SBC. I hope I’m not being pedantic. :/

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Tristan
10/08/2017 at 00:39

It’s good. Thank you. That car looks ahead of its time for something ‘63.

Tristan > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
10/08/2017 at 00:49

That was the idea. They were attempting to shake the dowdy, financially crippled image that had plagued Studebaker since the mid/late ‘50s. They gained a fantastic performance image with the Avanti, and used the Avanti’s street cred to boost the Hawk and Lark lines with the R1/R2 powered Super Hawk and Super Lark. It caused quite a stir and started bringing people into the showrooms... but it was too little, too late. Studebaker ceased operations in South Bend in 1964, and in Canada in 1966.