Studebaker Avanti (1962 to 1964)

The Studebaker Avanti was a series of personal luxury cars introduced for the 1963 model year. The Avanti was Studebaker's top model during its production, and was only available in a two door coupe body style. This new line of cars were created to combine luxury and performance, and were offered with three engine options. The R1 was the standard 4.7L V8 engine, with an optional supercharged version known as the R2 also available. A rare variant with a larger 5.0L supercharged V8 was also built, and is known as the R3. Both manual and automatic transmissions were offered. Production of the Studebaker Avanti lasted until 1963, although sales continued into 1964. After the Studebaker factory closed, a group of former Studebaker dealers who bought the Avanti's rights, plant, and tooling in order to keep producing what was virtually the same car under the Avanti II brand.