Back From The Dead, Again

Automotive Industries, April, 2000 by Don Sherman

Can one man's passion, and a risky GM platform, resurrect the Avanti?

A vanti is the Rocky Balboa of car companies, the marque that won't stay down. John Seaton is mounting a remarkable sixth attempt to build and sell these uniquely styled all-American GTs in modest volumes.

Die-hard Avanti enthusiasts like Seaton consider their 2 2 heartthrob a timeless classic worth keeping in production. The Avanti was conceived in 1961 by Studebaker's president, Sherwood Egbert, as a desperate attempt to save a failing automotive division. Egbert sought an attention-grabbing sports coupe to provide a stepping stone between the firm's stodgy stodgy sedans and the aristocratic Mercedes-Benz models Studebaker began distributing in 1957. Legendary industrial designer Raymond Loewy supervised a team of three stylists who worked feverishly in a rented Palm Springs home to model the car in a little over a month, meeting Egbert's deadline for a 1963 launch.

The original Avanti had front disc brakes (before Corvette), cone-type door latches borrowed from Mercedes, and an optional supercharger. Unfortunately the stir its introduction generated didn't turn the tide. Studebaker terminated U.S. manufacturing operations after only 4,643 fiberglass-bodied coupes had left its South Bend, Indiana, factory. Undaunted, two local Studebaker dealers -- Nate Altman and Leo Newman -- purchased rights to the car for $25,000, reengineered it for Chevrolet V-8 power, and convinced Molded Fiberglass of Ashtabula, Ohio, to continue supplying bodies. Their miracle resuscitation lasted 18 years and yielded 2,241 Avanti IIs.

Real estate magnate Steve Blake came next. What he lacked in business sense he made up in raw enthusiasm. Avanti II production peaked at 289 units in 1983 and plans were laid for a convertible version. But the receivers seized control in 1986, after Blake had manufactured only 589 cars.

Third benefactor Mike Kelly blended his own and associates' investments with city and state business grants to relocate Avanti production to Youngstown, Ohio. After building only 350 cars, using Chevrolet Monte Carlo and El Camino chassis, Kelly sold his interests to partner John Cafaro in 1988.

When the ready supply of GM mid-size rear-drive components ran out, Cafaro attempted to launch a Callaway-engineered chassis and a new four-door bodystyle. His effort faltered in 1991 after extending the Avanti roster by 297 cars. (For those keeping score, total Avanti production to this point was 8,120 cars.)

John Seaton gathered up loose ends last year, tapped original Studebaker design team member Tom Kellogg for styling updates, and invited Mike Kelly to reinvest in a sixth attempt to build Avantis. A 122,000-square-foot former hosiery mill in an Atlanta suburb is being refurbished in hot pursuit of that dream.

Seaton has owned 70 Avantis since he purchased a '63 edition in 1965. His men's haberdashery in St. Paul, Minn., once served as the factory's midwestern distribution center. Instead of trying to reinvent Studebaker, Seaton's scheme is to reskin Chevrolet Camaros -- both coupes and convertibles -- with the Avanti's coke-bottle curves rendered in fiberglass. He hopes to begin deliveries in September and eventually achieve a volume of 300 conversions per year.

Exactly how General Motors factors into this equation hasn't been defined. Major issues are warranty and product liability and what happens when Camaro production ceases in 2002. But, for now. Seaton is encouraged by the enthusiasm his $69,000 coupe and $83,000 convertible have generated at the Los Angeles and Chicago auto shows. At least in the first round of this fifth comeback match. Avanti is still standing.