Vehicle Description
West Coast Classics are proud to present an absolutely exceptional
example of this all original and stock 1963 Studebaker Avanti R2
Supercharged 289/289HP 4BBL V8 2 door Coupe with 9:1 compression
ratio in its original 'Avanti Gold' factory color paint and
boasting it's extraordinarily rare and desirable factory 4 speed
manual transmission and original matching #'s engine and factory
options including; Front amp; Rear Heavy Duty Springs, Twin
Traction Rear End, 409 Axle Ratio, AM Pushbutton radio with rear
speakers, electric clock, heater and defroster and original 289 V8
Supercharged R2 Super Jet Thrust engine!Reportedly one of less than
500 in total factory 4 spd Supercharged R2's ever built between the
1963-64 production years! The R2 would set several land speed
records for factory stock vehicles, eventually breaking 29 speed
records between 1963-64, to become the "World's fastest production
car." These records remained on the books for many years. Top speed
was almost 169 miles per hour. This particular example was
purchased by only it's second southern California owner in 2021, in
all original condition including the paint and interior and
reportedly with only 32,461 original miles on it's original
matching #'s engine and being all original obviously with no
history of any accidents or damage. The most often overlooked true
performance car of the 1960s is the original 1963-64 Studebaker
Avanti. This is an odd phenomenon, seeing as the Avanti was more
expensive than a Corvette when new, built in limited numbers and
was one of the fastest and most innovative cars of the time. Andy
Granatelli helped break 29 speed records at Bonneville with factory
Paxton-supercharged Avantis, which he proved could run 170 MPH in
"stock" form, and 200 MPH when more heavily modified.Rodger Ward,
winner of the 1962 Indianapolis 500, received a Studebaker Avanti
as part of his prize package "thus becoming the first private owner
of an Avanti." A Studebaker Lark convertible was the Indianapolis
pace car that year and the Avanti was named the honorary pace car.
This particular example came factory equipped and remains to this
day as follows:Original matching $'s 289/289HP R2 engine.Original
Paxton centrifugal superchargerOriginal Borg Warner T10 4-speed
manual transmissionOriginal Twin-Traction rear endAM radioRear
SpeakersHD Front amp; Rear Springs409 Axle RatioExcellent original
body with perfect 'hog troughs'Original 'Avanti Gold' factory color
paintFawn interiorStudebaker National Museum Copy of original build
sheet1 of 1,883 total supercharged R2 models produced in 1963 and
19641 of fewer than 500 total factory 4-Speed R2 Avanti'sThe 1963
Avanti was the first American production car to have factory disc
brakesThe Avanti was promoted as America's Most Advanced Car and
was more expensive than a Corvette when newSupercharged Avantis set
29 speed records at Bonneville when newThis R2 is all that was
promised from South Bend in 1963 and more, beyond it having all of
the right bits, its life in bone-dry climates proved very forgiving
so those famous "hog troughs" which today look as good as the day
they were installed in South Bend.The car was recently fully
serviced with new fuel hoses, filters, and engine oil and an
electronic ignition distributor was installed with all new plugs
and wires. Also the rear main seal and engine oil pan were replaced
and the carburetor was overhauled.As a result, this R2s
matching-numbers supercharged 289/290 HP R2 engine runs like a
bear, and that rare T-10 4-speed competently sends all that boosted
power to its Twin-Traction rear end with 3.73:1 gears. Combined
with the 4 speed manual transmission, it is really a fantastic car
to enjoy with the added bonus of that Paxton blower soundtrack. The
1963-64 Studebaker Avanti was amongst the most daring of 1960's
American cars, a modern masterpiece which still seems contemporary
today! Built with modern safety features such as a built in roll
bar, padded interior and door latches that became structural body
members when closed! A supercharged 289 V8 made the car the fastest
cars built in its day with a top speed of over 168mph - a
staggeringly fast speed for a production street car! Some 29
Bonneville speed records were set by a supercharged Avanti. This
was also the first major fiberglass body four passenger car and
also the first such car to use caliper style disc brakes and
anti-sway bars front and rear.With only 3,834 Avanti models built
in 1963 and even less, 809 in 1964, of which only 1,883 in total
were the Supercharged R2 models, most of which were ordered with
the automatic transmission with reportedly less than 500 of which
were R2 Supercharged models factory ordered with the 4 speed manual
transmission! This car was to prove an instant collectible and has
since reached certified 'Milestone Status'. Distinctive features
abound such as a grille-less front end, asymmetrically placed hood
bulge, shaped windows with large glass areas, a short rounded tail
end, aircraft-like cockpit instrumentation and controls, slim
section bucket seats and a padded roll bar.To Studebaker's delight
and not surprisingly, the public loved the car as it was both
upscale and well equipped, although it sported a base price of
$4,445 compared to the Corvette Sting Ray's $4,252. In the end, the
main problem for the original Avanti, was the fact that the public
knew that its parent company, Studebaker, was fast going out of
business and therefore were reluctant to purchase their cars. Upon
seeing it close its South Bend plant on December 20th 1963 and with
the last 1964 Avanti having barely come off the production line,
its fate was sealed. Studebaker moved production of its other
models to Canada in 1965 and only Chevy engines were offered in
1965-66. The renown 'Studebaker Motor Company' which had been
incorporated in 1968 and founded in 1852 as a wagon producer, sadly
folded in March 1966.In later years, being too good to let die, the
Avanti model continued with Chevy Corvette V8's after two South
Bend Studebaker dealers, Nate Altman and Leo Norman bought all the
rights to the model, formed the 'Avanti Motor Company' and
continued to hand-build the cars in an old Studebaker plant with
the cars being known as 'Avanti II's. After Altman's death in the
mid 1970's the Altman estate sold the operation to another
entrepreneur in 1982, who continued the passion of building the car
and so it was for years to come, until finally the recession of
1991 doomed the car to history.This particular model is the most
desirable R2 Supercharged 289 V8 with 289HP with this particular
example very rare in many ways, especially with the now
extraordinarily desirable and collectible and rarely ordered
factory 'Borg Warner T10' 4 speed manual transmission, Heavy Duty
suspension and Twin Traction rear end, an electric clock,
windshield wipers, AM Pushbutton radio with rear speakers, wheel
covers, side mirrors and a heater and defroster.This is a very rare
and desirable all stock example, in its original 'Avanti Gold'
color, owned for many years by only two southern California owners
and which had been sitting covered in climate controlled garages
for many years reportedly with only 32K original miles. Its life in
bone-dry climates proved very forgiving so those famous "hog
troughs" which look as good as the day they were installed in South
Bend .The original supercharged R2 engine itself is extremely
strong and powerful and the 4 speed manual transmission shifts
smoothly through all the gears, a simply lovely car to drive with
any required preventive maintenance issue having already been
attended to with service records available for turn-key peace of
mind driving for many years t...for more information please contact
the seller.
