The Studebaker Avanti is an example of an uncompromised vision. It’s a mid-century icon that bucked the conventions of its day and became immortal. The car was styled by Raymond Loewy, one of the most celebrated industrial designers in history. And because they were able to cut out the fat in the development process, it went from an idea to a production car in a little over two years, a timetable that is unprecedented among major automakers. Despite all of this, the Avanti couldn’t save Studebaker from disaster. Fewer than five years after it debuted, the company shut its doors. Why did a company drowning in red ink decide to hedge its future on a low-volume halo car? How were they able to make good on their aggressive development cycle? And most importantly, what kind of legacy did the car leave behind? This is the story of the Studebaker Avanti.
The years following World War 2 hadn’t been particularly kind to Studebaker. As the Detroit Three dusted off their pre-war designs, they rushed to release the Commander and Champion, the first all-new cars to go on sale. They were able to ride this wave for a few years, but their market share began to erode as soon as their competitors released models of their own. The Raymond Loewy-designed Starliner models are revered today, though, at the time, they weren’t exactly the soundest investment. Tooling costs were through the roof because the coupe and sedan lines shared no bodywork. Additionally, the contract with Loewy’s design consultancy was worth $1 million, a significant amount of money that Studebaker directors surely could’ve put elsewhere in the company. It also didn’t help that they abandoned the truck market right before sales in the segment took off. In 1950, they built nearly 400,000 cars and had $27 million in profits. By the end of 1954, they produced 100,000 cars and had a $26 million loss. In a matter of three short years, they let 2/3rds of their market share slip away.
On March 9th, 1961, Egbert rekindled an old relationship and invited Raymond Loewy to the Studebaker headquarters in South Bend. The meeting was pretty straightforward. He wanted him to handle design work for a high-performance halo car. It was not envisioned to be a big seller, but Egbert learned the value of such a vehicle during his round trip. Dealers heard rumors that the company planned to discontinue the Hawk. They begged him to reconsider. It drew customers to showrooms, who were then in a position to drive out in either that or another vehicle. In his mind, something that aimed even higher would only amplify this effect.
TIMESTAMPS
00:00 INTRO
1:29 PARADOX (Studebaker After WWII)
5:28 FLASH FORWARD (Raymond Loewy Design Phase)
13:01 DAYS OF FUTURE PAST (Later Development Phase)
19:56 JET SET RADIATOR FUTURE (Design Preview/Initial Reception)
24:25 PARADISE LOST (Failure/The Fall Of Studebaker)