Product Reviews
1963 Studebaker Avanti Fastest American Car Ever In 1961 things looked bleak for independent American automakers. Hudson, Kaiser, and Crosley had all ceased production by then, American Motors was shaky and Studebaker president Sherwood Egbert was desperate. He assigned Raymond Loewy to come up with a new style in a last gasp effort to save the company. The Loewy-led design team came up with the Avanti, Italian for "forward. Using a revolutionary aerodynamic design featuring coke-bottle fender contours, a fiberglass no-rust body, grille-less front end and asymmetrical hood bulge, the Avanti looks earned it Milestone Car status. As for speed, Andy Granetelli, who developed the engine, shattered 29 national stock car records at Bonneville in the summer of 1963, including one mile at an incredible 168 mph. Production Problems Doom Studebaker Advance sales of the Avanti were terrific and Egbert thought he had a winner. But production problems involving curling and fit of the fiberglass body delayed delivery by 6 months, causing a tremendous amount of cancellations, reducing orders to less than 4,000. This loss of momentum was the final nail in Studebakers coffin. Although the company struggled on until 66, the die was cast. However, this 1:18 scale reproduction has none of these problems. Its precision die-cast body includes opening doors, hood and trunk, working steering system, and a jet black factory-baked enamel finish, making it look as good, or better, than those rolling off the South Bend assembly line 40 years ago. Model Features Opening Hood Opening Trunk Opening Doors Detailed Interior Working Steering System Realistic Guages and Swithes Detailed Supercharged 335 HP V-8 Engine Baked Enamel Jet Black Finish Precision Die-Cast Replica 1:18 Scale Model 10 inches long
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