There's only so often car makers can play automotive catch-up and survive. Henry Ford did it with the Model-T which lasted almost 20 years without major changes. Another American manufacturer, Studebaker was not so lucky. Yet, in the process of trying to go forward Studebaker of Southbend, Ohio went backward and created one of the great automotive tragedies. Studebaker Avanti. In some ways the Avanti was akin to a gamblers last big bet. A whopping, do-it-or-die, punt.

Studebaker won the battle – the car was awesome – but lost the war. The company that manufactured automobiles was not making money. Even the streamlined, powerful, sleek, smooth, fast, fibreglass, Avanti, the car that was to be Studebaker's future, could not save Studebaker as a car maker. They simply closed the doors, laid off workers to concentrate on other money-making aspects of the business.

Studebaker as a vehicle manufacturer was a victim of it's own poor management. Yet, the company facade – the cars themselves – were in many cases design masterpieces. We have featured on this site the Champion (below) and Commander cars from the flamboyant pen of the Raymond Loewy design studio – cars of the ilk not seen before, or since. Up against the likes of Ford and Chevrolet, Studebaker had the reputation for innovative design. The cars known as the `bullet-nose' led the brigade and were inspired by WW2 fighter aircraft. But, this was a fad. It drew customers into the showrooms in the very early 1950's but by the time they went to buy their next car, they expected the latest, modern design. At Studebaker that continual change and improvement was simply too slow.

By the mid-1950s the company was struggling. They did not have the economies of scale of a high-production Ford or GM. What kept them going was the contemporary Lark. It was compact and economical. I can recall the Victoria Police Service using Larks and Cruisers in the late 1950s or early 1960s. At the same time as the Lark was used to chase down Melbourne crims the company produced the stunning Hawk, Golden Hawk and Gran Turismo (below) models.

In the early 1960s even Lark sales faltered and the company's products were in desperate need of at least a face lift and at best, all-new models. In 1961 Sherwood Egbert took over the reins at Studebaker and his first priority was to order urgent styling updates to Lark (below) and Hawk. Egbert also realised this would not be enough to put Studebaker back on buyer's radar. A new flagship was needed. The quicker the better.

Loewy had not worked for Studebaker since the mid 1950s and a call was put out by Egbert to the industrial designer. He wanted nothing short of a dramatic new product. Loewy briefed a team of designers on what he wanted: Tom Kellogg, Bob Andrews and John Ebstein. What happened next borders on the incredible. They were basically locked up in a rented desert ranch near Palm Springs – with no hope of distractions – and worked for weeks up to 18 hours a day on the Avanti design. The brief had some basic tenents: the car must have a Coke-bottle sides and a wedge-style silhouette. Once again Loewy returned to an aviation theme and the interior had touches of a pilot's cabin. There was no grille as such, which gave the car a unique front, but an air scoop under the bumper to capture the breeze and cool the 289 cubic inch V8.

The Avanti – which means forward, the direction the car was supposed to take Studebaker – was built between 1962-64 and now enjoys cult status thanks to its radical design. It's about the same size as an early Ford Mustang and seats four passengers. From the rear it has similarities to Jensen Interceptor. It was ahead of its time with seat belts as an option, roll-over protection from a structural roll-cage and front disc brakes. The interior is simply breathtaking with a futuristic console and an instrument binnacle resembling the layout of a small aircraft. There's padding everywhere, great bucket seats, a ski-hatch and a beauty vanity for the passenger with pop-up mirror, make-up tray, accessory shelf and drinks tray. Despite the latest gimmickry Avanti rode on the shortened chassis of the Lark convertible. But, the Avanti was not just a pretty face. The R-1 variant of the 289 cubic inch V8 put out 240 hp (176 kW).

There was also an optional engine, complete with a Paxton supercharger (above)  that put out 1hp for every cubic inch at 289 hp or 215 kW. This was a massive amount of power for this era. It easily out-gunned Ford's 289 V8 and was not eclipsed by the blue oval until the 302 V8 came along in 1968. But it was not all smooth sailing. Studebaker had farmed out the fibreglass body to Molded Fiberglass Products that had been building Chevrolet Corvette bodies since 1954. Yet, there were alignment issues. This lead to delivery delays with dealers having full order books, and buyers went elsewhere. Build quality was not a new issue for Studebaker – it suffered from similar problems in the 1950s – with similar results. As I recall the Studebaker Cruisers used by the Victoria Police had problems with windscreens popping out for no reason, suggesting poor fit or excessive body flex.

In addition to the R-1 and R-2 engines American racing legend Andy Granatelli worked with Studebaker to build an R-3 engine for the Avanti. Despite the car not having been designed with the assistance of wind-tunnel aerodynamics, the car's streamlining was suited to high-speed. Granatelli delivered an engine with major modifications: new cylinder heads, larger valves, larger ports and aluminium intake manifold, high lift cam (it already had a ¾ race cam) and a Paxton supercharger atop a four-barrel Carter carby situated in a pressurised aluminium box.

In late 1962 Granatelli – who operated the famous STP oil and petrol additive products – took the R-3 Avanti to the Bonneville Salt Flats where he steered the car to a speed of 170.78 miles per hour (274.84 km/h). In all the Avanti R-3 set or broke 34 U.S. land speed records.

Engines:

1962-3: 289 ci R-1 V8 . 3.56mm bore X 3.63mm stroke 240 bhp/R-2 supercharged 290 bhp