Rare Rides: The Studebaker Avanti Story, Part III

Corey Lewis
by Corey Lewis

Our history of the Studebaker Avanti continues today, after Parts I and II explored the birth, death, rebirth, and continuation of the Avanti by the aptly named Avanti Motors Corporation.

When we concluded last time it was the dawn of the Eighties, and that’s where we pick up today.

Avanti Motors was building its Avanti II slowly but surely at the start of the decade, complete with the strangled 305 V8 and three-speed automatic from the Corvette. But change was in the air. Nate Altman passed away in the late Seventies, and his brother Arnold continued to run AMC in the Eighties. But in 1982 after 18 years of continued Avanti II production, Altman decided it was time to pass the Avanti on to its next owner. On October 1st of that year, Avanti Motors was purchased by real estate magnate Stephen H. Blake. Because the company was an Indiana staple and production still occurred in South Bend, the state of Indiana chipped in with $1.9 million in loans to Blake at purchase.

Wanting to turn Avanti around, Blake took action to make further modernization and changes to the Avanti II. It seemed apparent to Blake that early Sixties tech and components didn’t have much appeal to the well-heeled Eighties consumer outside Rolls-Royce. But it took a couple of years before his dreams were ready for production, so meantime from late 1982 through 1984, Avanti II continued in production on its original Studebaker chassis.

In 1984 a new, updated Avanti was ready. It dropped its II moniker and was notable for new Eighties-approved rectangular headlamps and body-colored bumpers. Blake’s solution also involved a swap to the much more modern Monte Carlo chassis, which happened after the ’84 rework – likely late in 1985 or early 1986. The G-body Monte was a good fit for the Avanti because it could accept Chevrolet V8s, and had a wheelbase just one inch shorter (108″) than the original Avanti’s 109 inches, an easy stretch. Avanti’s rear end was reworked by an engineer formerly at Pontiac who Blake hired, Herb Adams. According to reports, the plan was to implement a torque tube on the Avanti, along with the rear end from a 1985 C4 Corvette, and a new independent rear suspension. But it never happened. A new body style did appear however, one far from Avanti’s original intent: A convertible.

Blake’s company was more serious about build timelines and efficiency than Altman-era AMC and got builds down to between eight and 10 weeks per car. Would the rapid build-to-order timeframe and reworked luxury design be enough to get Avanti Motors in the black, and give the Avanti a new lease on life?

No, not at all. After the development dollars (and Indiana’s loan money) were spent, Blake seemed out of ideas and out of cash. In short order after the introduction of Avanti (Mark II), Avanti Motors Corporation declared bankruptcy. In February of 1986 Blake resigned, and once again Avanti Motors was up for a resale and a rethink. Worth a watch, MotorWeek got hold of an Avanti late in 1985, complete with its new contemporary luxury interior but old Studebaker platform.

In Part IV we’ll head into the Nineties, and see if Avanti received a reprieve from its struggle bus status.

[Images: Avanti Motors Corporation]

Corey Lewis
Corey Lewis

Interested in lots of cars and their various historical contexts. Started writing articles for TTAC in late 2016, when my first posts were QOTDs. From there I started a few new series like Rare Rides, Buy/Drive/Burn, Abandoned History, and most recently Rare Rides Icons. Operating from a home base in Cincinnati, Ohio, a relative auto journalist dead zone. Many of my articles are prompted by something I'll see on social media that sparks my interest and causes me to research. Finding articles and information from the early days of the internet and beyond that covers the little details lost to time: trim packages, color and wheel choices, interior fabrics. Beyond those, I'm fascinated by automotive industry experiments, both failures and successes. Lately I've taken an interest in AI, and generating "what if" type images for car models long dead. Reincarnating a modern Toyota Paseo, Lincoln Mark IX, or Isuzu Trooper through a text prompt is fun. Fun to post them on Twitter too, and watch people overreact. To that end, the social media I use most is Twitter, @CoreyLewis86. I also contribute pieces for Forbes Wheels and Forbes Home.

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  • StudeDude StudeDude on Jun 26, 2021

    The rear axle was reworked but it was a 4 link coil solid axle from a leaf sprung solid axle. The Corvette rear suspension may have been a goal but was never achieved by Blake, Kelly or Cafaro.

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    • StudeDude StudeDude on Jun 28, 2021

      @Corey Lewis Exactly. They barely had the money to convert to the GM frame. The coil rear was an improvement especially in the ride category.

  • Arthur Dailey Arthur Dailey on Jun 28, 2021

    For those of you who complain about 'penalty boxes' etc in Chapter II Corey posted the Avanti 'spec sheet' from late 1981. Extra cost options were power windows and door locks, trunk release, cruise control and right hand (passenger) side mirror. Mentioned specifically as standard equipment on this rather expensive automobile were A/C, clock, heater and electric windshield wipers. Clearly demonstrating just how far vehicles have 'evolved' during the past 40 years.

  • MaintenanceCosts It's not a Benz or a Jag / it's a 5-0 with a rag /And I don't wanna brag / but I could never be stag
  • 3-On-The-Tree Son has a 2016 Mustang GT 5.0 and I have a 2009 C6 Corvette LS3 6spd. And on paper they are pretty close.
  • 3-On-The-Tree Same as the Land Cruiser, emissions. I have a 1985 FJ60 Land Cruiser and it’s a beast off-roading.
  • CanadaCraig I would like for this anniversary special to be a bare-bones Plain-Jane model offered in Dynasty Green and Vintage Burgundy.
  • ToolGuy Ford is good at drifting all right... 😉
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