By Michael Berenis

Tampa Sports Car Examiner

Proving to the automotive world that there’s more than just corn in Indiana, the Paxton-supercharged Avanti II with a full fiberglass body was quite a hit. Hailing from Studebaker’s South Bend assembly plant and still available today for an affordable $20,000 price tag, the Avanti II is for the handling class vehicle enthusiast. Read more about the road test at Tampa Sports Car Examiner.

By Dan Strohl

Hemmings

While Studebaker president Sherwood Egbert had envisioned a four-door sedan based on the Avanti way back in 1963, this 1990 Avanti four-door sedan currently for sale on Hemmings.com is not the result of Egbert’s dreaming. Instead, it’s the product of John J. Cafaro’s brief tenure as the guy who kept the Avanti name alive in the late 1980s. In fact, the Avanti four-door, based on a Caprice chassis, is the only vehicle his Avanti Automotive Corporation built in 1990, and according to John Hull’s “Avanti: The Complete Story,” AAC built less than 100 Avanti four-doors that year. From the seller’s description:

Fantastic, 12772 Miles. Only a few of these were built. Rear seat has tray tables! Down sizing collection!! Car is As NEW! Drive Anywhere. Has current California Plates. This car is a Fraction of the cost new. Ready for any collector car event! Paint and interior are original and excellent.

Be prepared to shell out $19,500 for this LA-based Avanti. See more pics at Hemmings

By Jim Brennan

UDMan

Welcome to the year end wrap-up of the Obscure Muscle Car Parking Lot. If you recall, this series was all about uncovering obscure makes, and redefining what a Muscle Car could be. We have discovered that Muscle originated during the 1950s, blossomed during the 1960s, and continued on through the 70s and 80s in a somewhat de-tuned state only to find a re-birth we are enjoying today. My focus was not to highlight the already established Muscle Cars like the Chevelle SS, the Pontiac GTO, or the Hemi Chryslers, but to find hidden gems that you may not have known about.

So during this week, it is now up to you, the Car Domain reader, to vote on your favorites. There will be specific categories, like today’s example, the 1960′s Unknowns. In the end, sometime after the New Years Holiday, there will be one car crowned as your favorite Obscure Muscle Car, and park it in the Parking Lot, with a few CarDomain Members rides highlighted.

So, what is your favorite little known Muscle Car from the period dominated by muscle cars?
- The 1962-1963 Oldsmobile F-85 Jetfire, Americas first Turbocharged V8!
- The 1963 Studebaker R2 Super Lark, and the R2 Super Hawk, both with Supercharged V8s!
- The AMC Rambler Marlin, predecessor to the great Javelin and AMX models.
- The 1968 – 70 Oldsmobile Toronado W-34, the first Front Wheel Drive Muscle Car!
- The Ford Galaxie 500 7 Litre, from 1966 – 67, Big Power in a full sized car!
- The 1963 to 1965 Buick Riviera. Classically proportioned Muscle, that was also luxurious!
- The 1968 Dodge Dart GTS 440; a very rare compact Muscle Car.
- The 1965 Chrysler 300-L; The Bankers Hot Rod!
- The Turbocharged Corvair, an unusual choice, and the second Turbocharged American Car.
- The Beaumont SD, and mix of Chevrolet and Pontiac for our Canadian Neighbors.
- The 1968 Mercury Cougar XR7-G; A tribute model for Dan Gurney.
- The 1969 AMC Hurst S/CRambler, an outrageous Rambler, in an eye searing color scheme.
- The 1968 Pontiac Grand Prix; Different Body, the year before the Mid Sized Grand Prix debuted.
- The Studebaker Avanti – Ahead of its time, too little to save Studebaker.

By Jim Brennan

UDMan

Welcome to another installment of the CarDomain Obscure Muscle Car Parking Lot, a regular feature which aims to expand the definition of what a muscle car is, and to expand your mind while doing so. Avanti is an Italian word for forward, and was probably the perfect name for the newest Studebaker coupe that was introduced in the fall of 1962. The design had many design firsts that later became inspirational factors in future cars during the next two decades. Key features include a long hood and short deck, popularized by the Ford Mustang: grill-less front end, which was popularized a decade later with other performance oriented cars, a glass fastback rear, picked up for the Plymouth Barracuda, and other vehicles, as well as other styling touches, too numerous to mention here. Lets just say that when the Avanti was introduced, it looked like nothing else on the market. But is it a muscle car, and does it deserve a place in the parking lot?

Continue reading after the jump!

Continue reading "CarDomain Obscure Muscle Car Parking Lot: The 1963 – 64 Studebaker Avanti" »

To any student of the world’s best GT cars, the Studebaker Avanti is a coveted classic. Studebaker was an early producer of automobiles, making the jump from creating horse-drawn carriages. It developed a reputation for being well-built, yet slightly stodgy cars. Seeking to find a niche after World War II, the company danced between conservative sedans and quirky coupes. In 1954, just as the company fell out of the top ten auto producers, they purchased Packard. Not only did the move kill the company financially, it also furthered the stodgy image.

Continue reading after the jump.

Continue reading "Studebaker Avanti Exhibits the Power of Creativity" »

$25K isn’t actually bad for a mint LS-powered Avanti, but in this particular case, the star power doesn’t seem to be doing anything to help the sale. Maybe it’s because the penalties for trace amounts of cocaine found in your vehicle have ramped up quite a bit since the 70′s—is that why there’s no bids? Source: Jalopnik.