1963 Studebaker Avanti R1

It is always interesting to learn why people enjoy certain types of cars. I’m half English and half Italian, and I have always gravitated toward makes from those countries, although I do wander occasionally into American muscle. If your family has been in the car business and has owned dealerships selling everything from Whippets to Grahams to Kaiser Frasers and ultimately to Studebaker Packards, you might be a Studebaker fan. And Ray Petros is a Studebaker fan. You might also be interested in owning an early Avanti, especially if it was delivered new to its first owner on March, 6, 1963 and had a warranty card signed by Raymond L. Petros Sr., Ray Petros’ dad.

Studebaker was in trouble and Sherwood Egbert believed it needed something in its showrooms that was different. The last totally new car from Studebaker was the Lark—different but not stunning. Egbert wanted stunning. On a trip in early 1961, Egbert supposedly bought some car magazines to see what cars they were covering, and he drew a sketch of a two-seater sports car. Egbert engaged Raymond Loewy to come up with a car with “ultra-modern lines,” which he wanted to show at the New York Auto Show in April 1962. Loewy, who had done a lot of work for Studebaker in the past, put together a team, secreted them away in a rented house in California, and went to work. In order to save some development and production costs, Egbert was convinced to make the car a four-seater GT so a Lark chassis could be used. The chassis selected was the cross-braced version used for the Lark convertible.

Loewy’s team went to work and in an amazing six weeks had a full-scale clay model that was shown to the Studebaker board on April 27, 1961. Production was approved. It would have a fiberglass body with a chiseled nose and no obvious grille, and was very different than anything for sale at the time, especially from Studebaker. Egbert was tall, so he insisted there be enough head room for a person his size, in both the front and back of the car. It was a car that was not intended for mass production, which may ultimately have been a bad decision for an auto maker in financial difficulty. The name that was selected, “Avanti,” was clever; if you understood Italian—it translated to “Forward.”

The car that was shown at the 1962 New York Auto Show was targeted at the Corvette coupe and the new Jaguars. It had a sticker price of $4,445 with a long list of standard equipment, including its 289-cid “Power Thrust” overhead-valve engine producing 240 hp, 4-speed transmission, front disc brakes and a stunning interior. That interior featured contoured bucket seats that were color-matched to the exterior color, included full instrumentation, had a glovebox with a vanity, and an overhead, aircraft-styled console that included the light switches. Best of all, the car was built with an integral roll-bar. Options included a Paxton supercharger (Studebaker had recently acquired Paxton) and an automatic transmission. Apparently, Avantis were pretty quick. Whenever Petros’s dad and uncle would drive one, the local police would follow them to the city limits to make sure they didn’t speed.

The Avanti R1 that Petros owns was the fifth Avanti (of six) sold by Petros Motor Sales during the model’s first year of production. It was sold to a doctor who lived not far from the Petros family home, so young Ray often saw the car. Interestingly, 50 percent of the Petros Avantis sold (three of the six) were sold to doctors. Of course, the car and Petros went off in different directions, with the car being sold and Petros pursuing his calling. In 1992, Petros sold an Avanti R2 with a nice four-speed transmission to a doctor. A year and a half later, the doctor called Petros to report that there was a Petros Avanti R1 on eBay, and Petros soon owned it. It had been damaged and had “other issues,” but it was the car that his father had sold in 1963. The car was restored to be a driver, and actually is still in the engine break-in period. Originally, the car had sold for $5,305 with the optional automatic transmission and air conditioning.

Driving Impressions

When I first get in a car I’ve not driven before, I like to look around to see what elements of the design strike me. Of course, the first thing I notice is that the seats are comfortable and are shaped to give reasonable support for the era. The steering wheel and shift lever are convenient and fall to hand. I did notice that the steering wheel is smaller than other cars of the early ’60s, and I anticipated that the power steering allowed for its size. The gauges are very complete and even include a vacuum gauge, although I doubt if many people worried a lot about gas mileage in a GT car in 1963. The car’s controls are very interesting. It has cone-shaped door locks, like a Mercedes, and it is obvious that the heater and vent controls were designed by someone into aircraft. Petros showed me the vanity inside the glovebox and a trap door in the package shelf into the trunk. It is a very pleasant interior. Seats are body color, the carpet is speckled, and the dash and surrounds are fawn colored. Nicely done.

Starting the car is standard stuff—key in lock and turn. No special tricks needed. As soon as the engine started, the sound made me smile. There was a rumble from the exhaust that just can’t be beat. It was a careful transit of the gravel drive then onto a nice Colorado two-lane road. Knowing that the engine was still in break-in, I was gentle. Still, this car accelerated nicely, the Power Shift three-speed automatic shifting smoothly as the speed and revs built, and the noise it produced was great. The road had some nice curves, so I was interested in seeing how well a Lark chassis and fiberglass body would handle them. It did well. I suspect the integral roll-bar helped stiffen the car, and it cornered much flatter than I expected. It was a very nice ride in a great looking car. Petros noted, though, that the seats are a bit hard and the car pretty noisy for long distance drives. But short drives in the Avanti are fine with him; he has other Studebakers that are great long-distance cars, and some of them will be covered in future issues of Vintage Roadcar.

The Avanti was supposed to save Studebaker, but it didn’t. It was expensive to develop and build, and it didn’t sell well. Body panels were outsourced to the Molded Fiberglass Company, who did the panels for Corvettes, but Studebaker asked them to build the bodies, and that was outside their competence. Door and fender gaps were irregular, fenders didn’t fit, and rear window glass fell out of the body. Molded Fiberglass had no body jigs and tried to build the bodies by hand. By the time Studebaker had this under control, many customers tired of the wait and cancelled their orders. The shine was off the Avanti and it was soon killed off by Studebaker. It was an amazing design, and it managed to live in various forms for another 30 years through a variety of owners who tried to make a go with it. Too bad such an innovative design was never successful. Those who own one know what they have and treasure them.

– J. Michael Hemsley

SPECIFICATIONS

Body/Chassis: Fiberglass body on steel Lark chassis

Engine: 289 cid/4.7 liter Jet Thrust overhead valve engine

Bore/Stroke: 3.56/3.62 inches

Power: 240 hp

Induction: Carter four-barrel downdraft carburetor

Transmission: Borg Warner Power Shift 3-speed automatic

Brakes: Dunlop front discs, rear drums

Wheelbase: 109 inches/2769 millimeters

Front track: 57.4 inches/1,457 millimeters

Rear Track: 57 inches/1,447 millimeters