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One of the very few hand built vehicles to emerge from the United States was from a little known manufacturer out of South Bend, Indiana. In this following vintage Car and Track video, a 1969 Studebaker Avanti II is put to the ultimate road test. To the average enthusiast, not much is known about the Studebaker automobile company. Starting out in 1852, the "Studebaker Brothers Manufacturing Company" originally produced wagons for the military, farmers, and miners. Just over 100 years later, a subsidiary aftermarket company turned out the 1969 Studebaker Avanti II, a supercharged street demon of it's time still based on the original Studebaker Avanti design.
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What makes the Avanti II so special? It was rare to see a car back then come equipped from the factory with forced induction. Studebaker only turned out three cars per week, so limited production isn't even the word; these things were nearly impossible to find and get. If you landed a Studebaker, you were totally the cool guy back in the day. Today, a mint condition Studebaker Avanti sells for an average of $20,000 and higher. It's not exactly the most sought after classic, but it held it's own compared to muscle cars of it's day.
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The specifications of the Studebaker Avanti II is what made this car unique when compared to other vehicles of it's classl. The entire body of the Avanti II is made entirely of fiberglass, thus reducing curb weight and making proper use of the Paxton supercharged 327 cubic inch Corvette V8. Running the pylon test, the Avanti II performed amazingly with independent front coil springs and sway bars. With nearly no body flex due to advanced suspension and a lightweight chassis, this high powered Avanti was the car to have. With an Italian design built with American muscle and quality, the Studebaker Avanti II was by far one of the best vehicles ever produced under the Studebaker name since the days of ye old'e wagon. Enjoy the following time machine trip back to the good ol' days of vintage Road and Track road testing.
Video content: Vintage Car and Track video, Studebaker Avanti II road test
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Comments
Dig that period style video--the music and narration are classic. A real find about one of the coolest cars ever.
You should be careful gunning it with that much power at the wheels. You may end up with some body flex that will mess up the chassis of the car. http://www.oxycise.com
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