1963 Studebaker Avanti R1

Highlights

Well preserved example of this design classic
Factory fitted with every available option
Attractive red and caramel colour scheme
Imported May 2023 by vendor
One of the most notable 60s American cars
Appropriate number plate included

The Appeal

The history of motoring is littered with could-have-beens and should-have-beens. The remarkable Studebaker Avanti is virtually a byword for the latter, a bold and clever gambit that sadly failed.

On paper, it had it all. Conceived as a clean-sheet ‘personal luxury vehicle’ that would kick start Studebaker’s recovery, the company brought back Raymond Loewy to design it. The famed industrial designer had penned many of the firm’s most successful models.

Studebaker planned a range of models, of which the R1 used the naturally aspired 289CI Hawk engine. Buyers clamoured for a car that looked like nothing else on the market. Sadly production problems stymied the Avanti. From a projected 20,000 cars in 1963 just 3,834 were built.

This 1963 car left the factory with every available option. It spent most of its life in California before being imported to the UK earlier this year. The vendor carefully fettled it for his own use but has now decided to sell it. It retains all the features that make these exquisite cars so compelling and as such offers a fantastic opportunity for the discerning collector.

The History and Paperwork

First registered in January 1963
Originally supplied to a customer in Glendale, California
Remained with one owner for most of its life
Always spent its life prior to import in dry southern California
Imported in May 2023
Fascinating history file includes original Studebaker handbooks and workshop manual
History includes factory build card
One of only 2,418 1963 cars
Old invoices from its time in the USA
1996 Valuation from Valley Oak Autos
AVZ477 number plate appropriate for an Avanti 4.7litre and included in sale

Factory supplied with long list of options, which it retains:

Air conditioning
Disc brakes
Limited Slip Differential
Tinted side glass
Power steering
Studebaker Radio
Silent mufflers
Electric windows
Pop up vanity mirror

Recent maintenance work by the seller following arrival in UK:

Upgraded electric window motors, switches and regulators
Electrics overhauled
New horns
New tachometer electronics
New fuse block
New brake pads and brakes bled

To develop the Avanti Raymond Loewy hand-picked a team, put them in a rented house in Palm Springs and gave them 40 days to come up with what would become the Avanti. Remarkably, considering the non-conformist shape and clever detailing, they delivered.

The car looked unlike any of its competitors and incorporated deft interior and exterior design touches. When shown to would-be customers, ordered quickly piled up.

After that judicious start things rapidly went downhill. The company gave the job of building the fibreglass bodies to a company with no experience of building fibreglass car bodies. Quality was dismal and pre-sale rectification slowed down production.

This car is one of the 2,418 1963 examples, a R1 fitted with the naturally aspirated 289CI Hawk V8 engine. It was sold new to a customer in Glendale, California who chose broadly from the options list.

It was imported to the UK in May 2023 by the vendor. He fettled the car for his own use but has now decided to sell it.

The Condition

Beautiful Avanti shape with deft Loewy detailing
Simple shape with simple yet clever adornment
Ground-breaking 'bottom breather' frontal design subsequently widely copied
The first production car with a built in roll bar, built into the headlining
Red paintwork and complementary tan interior suit the styling
Attractive interior continues the cutting edge theme
Innovative interior features include aircraft-style heater controls and overhead switches
Stylish high end luxury interior with ‘full instrumentation’
Highly specified car with air conditioning, Studebaker radio and pop up vanity mirror
Very rare 1963 Cragar chrome wire wheels with faux spinners
Michelin tyres in good condition with plenty of tread
Great exterior features including the svelte Strato-Vue mirrors
Underside and chassis present well with no structural issues to report
Remote trunk release
Discreetly retro-fitted with modern radio in glovebox with original unit still in place
Three spoke leather-rimmed Studebaker factory steering wheel
Trim and switchgear in timewarp condition, even the faux veneers present well
Delightful quilted headlining one of the many original features
Padded vinyl dashboard in good condition with no notable marks or cracks

Where to begin? The joy of the Avanti is that unlike some merely beautiful cars, the car’s appeal goes far beyond the immediately aesthetic. Yes, it is a gorgeous design, quite unlike anything else available at the time, but this is a car that is not merely skin deep. Look closer and there is a myriad of clever detailing inside and out that betray Loewy’s famous design touch.

Those details include the bumpers that carefully arrange themselves around the front wings and the almost art deco Strato-Vue wing mirrors. Inside there are echoes of Loewy’s work on aircrafts, such as the ‘heads up’ roof mounted switchgear.

This car is very well preserved and retains its phalanx of factory options including air conditioning, pop-up vanity mirror and Studebaker radio. The only variation from standard is a retro-fitted modern radio discreetly fitted into the glovebox.

The Mechanics

289CI 4.7litre Studebaker Hawk V8 engine with carburettors
Factory standard engine bay with chromed components
Optional Dunlop disc brakes to front, a first on an American car
3spd automatic gearbox
Recent renovation of the electrics by the seller
Brake pads recently replaced and brakes bled

The Avanti was planned to take on Ford’s Thunderbird in the ‘personal luxury’ category and marketed on its launch as the fastest car production car in the world. That accolade was accorded to the supercharged R2.

This car is a naturally aspired R1 with the same 4.7litre Hawk V8 as the R2. Since arriving in the UK the vendor has attended to the electrics and replaced the brake pads and bled the system. We are told that the car stops and starts well and there is video available to this effect.

BEFORE YOU BUY

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