1963-1964 Studebaker Avanti was designed by a team led by Raymond Loewy. It was, as you can see, revolutionary for its time, with razor-edged front fenders swept back into a curved rear. Almost European in its petite quirkiness.
Loewy threw out the conventional grille for the Avanti, putting instead an air scoop under a thin front bumper, complete with an asymmetrical hump in the hood.
Studebaker decided to make this a real lightweight plastic fantastic, too, and made it out of fibreglass. When you consider this car came with Stud’s best V8 with high lift cam and four barrel carbs – which produced in the region of 250 Cavali: this would have been one rapid freak of a mid sixties automobile.
There was, apparently a supercharged version which must have been hell on wheels, too.
Wonder why it never sold too well. It might have been a little ugly to a culture obsessed with chrome, fins and the demonising of Cuba. But we reckon it looks pretty good through the gauze of half a century.
CLICK TO ENLARGE
"That’s it, go on, snigger. The Wankel rotary engine may have a crass-sounding name, but the cars it powered were anything but. With fewer moving parts than a traditional piston engine, the rotary was smoother, quieter, and – hurrah! – more "
"This time around we’re featuring helmets – and these safety devices are more than just practical, they’re art. More than that, for a professional race driver or rider they’re also their trademarks – their identities whilst their faces are "
"The Grand Tour is back on our telly-boxes (assuming you have Amazon Prime), and we’re currently being treated to (or tortured by, delete as applicable and to your taste) by more road trips involving everyone’s favourite (or otherwise) "
