1963 Studebaker Avanti "Bonneville Record Breaker"

[@wtmayhew]

I think the Avanti you saw in Italy may be in my driveway now. My 1963 R2 was exported directrly from the factory to Trieste, Italy according to the original build sheet. The paperwork I have also shows the Avanti moved to Switzerland for several years before coming back to the US in about 2007. The person in Italy who ordered the Avanti must have aspired to be a drag racer becasue the car was ordered with a 4.09 ratio differential, no power steering and no radio. It is still a great car.

[@opera93]

Thanks,what a treasure…. I was raised in N Indiana (69 years ) ….. Avanti, Hawk GT, super Larks, were big attractions…..Unfortunately I,never got my STUDEBker…….

[@Terraplane34]

Fantastic sound of the stude v8 loved it

[@rodneykirchhoff497]

The sound was so distinctive that you could tell it was a Stud even though it wasn't in sight!

[@nj8175]

Thanks Dennis Collins. Awesome car

[@OsbornTramain]

Not sure I agree here, all Avantis had roll bars. If you look at the interior of an Avanti, it has a roll bar built into the roof and covered with padding. I own one so I know this is true. The whole point about this promotion was that the car was indeed "stock", unmodified, un changed. That's point of the record. This class recored is for cars that are driven off the show room floor.

[@trainliker100]

Yes. All had integral roll bars (I also have). But not like the usual tubular type. Instead, a high tensile steel "C" cross section that is less bulky. The car used here to break the records had a roll cage added.

[@holmgrown]

The supercharged R3 put out more horse power

[@blue32falcon]

Thats right, watching this after watching Dennis Collins Studebaker Avanti's episode.

[@truckerkevthepaidtourist]

He found a gem in Cali

[@OsbornTramain]

I use to live in Switzerland and belonged to the Swiss Avanti Owners Association. We made a trip once as a group back in 1998 with our Avantis down to Italy. I don't recall the mans name but he did own an Avanti and lived in Italy. I did get to see one of them. I might even have pictures of it somewhere :O)

[@zappatx]

Proude to be a new Stude owner!!

[@4pointedstar]

Outstanding! Great vid and perhaps the greatest and most original car the world has ever seen!

[@DJDOOM11]

My Dad has one original owner bought new in April of 63 in Illniois. 83000 miles and is still driven to this day .

[@calebbitz4147]

Awesome!! I just inherited my grandfather's avanti. He was one owner 59k original miles. Amazing cars

[@USCG.Brennan]

You LUCKY guys......I remember when they came out and have wanted one ever since!!!

[@CowSaysMooMoo]

when was the last time it saw 80MPH?

[@glamourpho]

one of my fav wants. beautiful auto.

[@coopermania74]

On my opinion, one of the best car produced in the U.S.A.. In Italy there are only 2 Avantis, only one supercharged. Very rare in Europe too. I wanna one! ! !

[@505197]

My dad loved Avantis but they never really flipped my switch. It's a shame Studebaker went the way of so many old car companys, they did make some fine cars and break some ground in perfornace. I liked the Hawks myself, and the model so popular for the flats...now that was one damn good lookin style. The avanti was too odd for my taste. If I owned one I'd probably change my tune lol.

[@tippey2011]

My Uncle and Grandfather sold these new as they had a dealership here in my town. They were awesome cars!

[@rodneykirchhoff497]

I found a 12' vertical Studebaker signage still attached to the front of a former dealership. Someone had spray painted it white when they painted the brick building and try as I might the owner would not sell it even though it held no actual significance for him. I had plans to resurrect it to it's original dark blue porcelain with white lettering and surround border lights and mount it on a flat bed trailer. Hinge it at the bottom so it would lie down flat when in transit and raise it for on site display. Equip it with a small generator to electrify the lighting and take it to the many International Studebaker Auto Meets which are held annually around the nation. Most generally these meets are held at the county or city fair grounds and my thoughts were to post this signage at the entrance way to the Studebaker car shows. For that extra special advertising touch. Time has passed for me to take this idea to fruition, but maybe someone else might find it a worth while project to pursue. As an old Studebaker fan I'd sure like to see it done!

[@OsbornTramain]

@IwontConform Avanti's were produced by Studebaker at the South Bend Indiana plant. for years 63 and 64, only 4 to 5 thousand were produced in total (which have had an incredibly large survival rate). When Studebaker announced in the November of 63 that they were shutting South Bend down and focusing all production of cars in their Hamilton Ontario plant, the Avanti was discontinued. From 65 to 07 from 0 to a 150 or so cars were produced per year under various ownerships.

[@trainliker100]

Yes. Zero in the 1964 calendar year. And zero in the calendar years 1992 through 1999 (Avanti Motors had closed before being started up again in 2000). However, in that 92-99 period, Tom Kellogg designed the "AVX" which would foreshadow the later 2000-2007 Avanti styling. But the AVX were all prototypes. Three of them. Two built on a Pontiac Firebird chassis and one on a Camaro chassis.

[@hectorescobedo1589]

MY DREAM CAR!

[@mbstude]

Excellent video! Thanks for posting it. :-) Having riddin in a R3 and a R4 Avanti a few times, they really are amazing cars! They are capable of things that a R1 or R2 just cannot do! Something isn't right, if the window really was down at those record-breaking speeds, the back glass would've popped out. :-) And as far as the car being 'factory stock', well, not ALL the Avanti's had a Granatelli "massaged" R3 under the hood... ;-) MB

[@shirleybaker3387]

9 had the R3

[@jerralsmith2463]

< to the left is a pic of my sisters R1 63 Hawk , R2 was an R1 but with a Paxton Super charger , R3 was an R1 but with two carburetors , and R4 was a R1 with two carburetors and two Paxton super chargers . Top speed was 196 for the R4 but the two back windows popped out and the dash pad vinyl came off and covered andrettis face and bursting his ear drums from the vacuum . He thought he could have went faster if not for that . Funny thing is the bottom end NEVER came apart . Wild stuff . The gearing was modified is why they had a push truck ,.Anyway Mine is R1 .

[@zackanderson2298]

um no.. the r3 was supercharged the r4 was not

[@forrestranger4997]

R-2 was one AFB and one Paxton Blower....BHP 289, R-1 no blower and 240BHP, R-3 304.5 and underrated at 335 BHP, R-4 304.5 and two AFB carbs, 12:1 compression, and under-rated at 280 BHP, R-5..one off with bendix fuel injection and twin Paxtons.......575 BHP, and top speed in excess of 196.

[@maccowart9100]

I love all the wanna-be experts talking about things they don't know anything about. R1 - 289 ci - with one 4 barrel carb; R2 - 289 ci with one 4 barrel and Paxton Supercharger; R3 - 304.5 ci with one 4 barrel and Paxton Supercharger; R4 - 304.5 ci with two four barrel carbs; R5 - 304.5 ci with Bendix Fuel Injection and two Paxton Super Chargers.

[@JeffDeWitt]

@@maccowart9100 What I'm wondering about is the 299 ci the announcer mentioned. I expect he misspoke and no one caught it.

[@keithstudly6071]

I have Andy Granatelli's book and he never mentioned an R-5. He described an expermental R-3 with dual superchargers in a car they refereed to as "Due Centro" which he hoped would do 200 mph. He claimed that by the tach he was seeing 220 mph but the salt condition was bad and the back tires were slipping.

[@OsbornTramain]

Studebaker Stopped building Avantis in 1963, the last few 64 models rolled off the assembly line in Jan and Feb of 1964. Studebaker Sold Avanti to Newman & Altman which produced the car from 1965 thru 1981. It was again sold to Blake who produced them from 1981 thru 1985 and went bankrupt. No 1986 models were ever produced. Kelly and Cafaro built them from 1987 till 1991 then bankrupt again. They used Chevy engines after Studebaker. The Transmissions were GM after Studebaker.

[@kevinwong6588]

The last 1964 models at South Bend were built December '63, not early 1964. The compact Commander/Daytona/Wagonaire continued in Hamilton, Ontario to March 1966.

[@trainliker100]

To be really specific, the final Studebaker Avanti was made on December 26, 1963.

[@rodneykirchhoff497]

@@trainliker100 Easily identifiable with their 'round' headlamps/bezels.

[@trainliker100]

@@rodneykirchhoff497 Some of the "1964" models had round headlight bezels. A number of 1964 registered cars are this way. The change was made partway into the 1964 model year, not as part of the model year change. There were more "1964" cars than cars with square headlights. The numbers are a bit blurry, but something like 809 1964 cars with 764 with square bezels. The parts book as the changeover at SN 4892. But I think the first car actually sold with the square ones was actually a few numbers later. Also, there were "transition" cars with even later numbers that had been built with round but registered after they had actually started delivering the square version. Also, you could special order round if you wanted even after square was in production. Anyway, while a square bezel will mean it is not a 1963, a round bezel does not guarantee it is a 1963.

[@TANGIWHI]

I want one

[@54spiritedwill54]

Fantastic sound! Really cool video

[@53champion]

very impressive for the time in history

[@vampov]

If you mean a state that loves motor-sports racing, outdoors sports, mt and road biking, climbing, skiing, shooting and hunting then yes Utah is very strange.

[@MrGlennner1]

He meant the terrain here at Bonneville, genius.

[@USCG.Brennan]

And to think they ran these cars up to 168+ MPH on narrow BIAS PLY TIRES!!! Wow...... And I remember the TV commercials back then when they said it was the "Nations Fastest Production Car." I've often wondered how the '63 Stingray with 327 compared at Bonneville.....anyone know??

[@rodneykirchhoff497]

Don't know, but a friend of mine ran a 11.88 quarter mile with a 64 Vette 327/360hp. I don't think that setup would come anywhere near what the Avanti did on top end.

[@mikeskidmore6754]

With an Altitude of 4,236 feet that Super charger really helps ...

[@lenyo123]

@OsbornTramain All Avantis had rollbars lol The only way the car can be jigged was with the rollbar. It just doesnt look like the typical rollbar your use to seeing.

[@aureliobrighton1871]

Funny how he gets buckled down ... well established like straight back from a fortnights Roman orgy circle .. now ready for the game part . Avanti;)

[@peterblows497]

yea ,,,,,, some were faster than 168 mph too , or could o more like 170 plus

[@xtremefight]

Utah = Strange

[@jerralsmith2463]

My bad I said Andretti ,before I get shot granatei ? More the point Studebaker and Mopar still run salt lake , factory stock ??? , more to point , anything over 100 mph on welded wheels and unbiased tires is insane . kzbin.info/www/bejne/gIeVZYp-Z96jaNE trying to prove the record , they also had an r2 lark (Avanti drive train ) that out ran it . Studebaker in general broke that amount of speed records , not just the Avanti . Anyway the fun of the Studebaker driving club growing up was the brand X cars that had no clubs that were welcome ,aston martons ,Ferraris , Kaiser darrins , peugot , citroen , anyone was welcome . Mayby i'll see yall at a meet .Peace Jerral

[@jamesdewer]

Dude, that helmet is more a hiderance than help. Might as well wear a steel pot.