To Be OFFERED AT AUCTION WITHOUT RESERVE at RM Sothebys' Monterey event, 15 - 16 August 2025.

• Very desirable factory-supercharged Avanti, one of 1,833 R2s produced in total
• Finished in factory-correct Avanti Red with an original interior; retains numbers-matching supercharged 289 cu. in. V-8
• Featured in a May 2025 Variety profile of actors Rob McElhenney and Kaitlin Olson
• Accompanied by copies of factory build sheets, window sticker, and dealership bill of sale
• An impressive, final model year example of a mid-century design icon

Great art is often born out of periods of tumult, and so it was with Studebaker’s Avanti. With Studebaker in rough straits by 1961, company brass pinned hopes of a turnaround on a racy range-topping model. Raymond Loewy, the industrial designer responsible for the Lucky Strike logo and packaging, the Coca-Cola bottle, and Air Force One’s livery, among countless other designs, led the effort. He hand-picked a small team of stylists and ushered them to a Palm Springs, California rental house with, it is said, drafting supplies, a few car magazines, and a couple hundred pounds of modeling clay.

In a little over a week, they developed the basic Avanti design. In a little over a month, a production version was greenlit—an incredibly abbreviated timeline for the auto industry. Studebaker used a modified Lark chassis as the Avanti’s underpinnings, and with front disc brakes and available supercharged engines, it was a respectable performer. But it was the stunning fiberglass bodywork, with its “Coke bottle” profile and a front facia defined by the lack of an immediately visible grille, that secured its place in automotive history.

Factory documentation on file shows that this 1964 Avanti, chassis number R5255, was inspected on 17 September 1963 as it moved down the assembly line. That December, it was sold via Arlington Motors of Arlington Heights, Illinois to Marvin P. Bradley of Barrington. The total retail price of $5,196.53 included the R2 supercharger option, a floor-shift automatic transmission, a silent muffler, power steering, whitewall tires, a pushbutton AM radio, seatbelts, and a Twin-Traction differential. Bradley traded in a 1962 Studebaker Hawk toward his new prize.

The Avanti’s next recorded owners were Fred and Margie Meiners. They entered the car in Studebaker Drivers Club competition, scoring 381 out of 400 possible points and earning a 1st place award. The consignor acquired the car in 2024, and he is known to be only its fourth owner from new. Under his care it was shown at ModaMiami 2025 and participated in the associated rally to Key Largo, Florida. In May 2025, it served as a backdrop for a Variety profile on comedic actors Rob McElhenney and Kaitlin Olson, a testament to both the appeal of the Avanti’s distinctive mid-century design and the overall quality of this example.

Aside from a prior repaint in its original Avanti Red, the car is noted to be in original condition, including the factory interior (excepting the carpets). Its supercharged 289-cubic-inch V-8 is also the numbers-matching unit, according to the Studebaker production record copy on file.

Studebaker Avanti production ceased in December 1963; 809 chassis were designated as 1964 models, of which only 281 were supercharged R2s (a mere 1,833 R2s were produced across all model years). These limited numbers could not save Studebaker, but they were more than enough to create an enthusiastic community dedicated to the Avanti and its futuristic design. Attractively finished in Avanti Red, this R2 offers entry into ownership of one of the most influential, and stylish, American performance cars of its era. To view this car and others currently consigned to this auction, please visit the RM website at rmsothebys.com/auctions/mo25/.