Studebaker Avanti
The Studebaker Avanti is a personal luxury coupe manufactured by Studebaker Corporation between June 1962 and December 1963. Designed by Raymond Loewy's team under Sherwood Egbert's direction, it was built as a halo car and marketed as America's only four-passenger high-performance personal car. It featured a radical fiberglass body mounted on a modified Studebaker Lark chassis and powered by a modified 289 Hawk V8 engine. It introduced front disc brakes — the first American production model to offer them — and a bottom-breather air intake. Called the fastest production car in the world upon introduction, it broke 29 world speed records at the Bonneville Salt Flats. Only 1,200 units were built in 1962 despite a goal of 20,000. Production ended in December 1963, though licensed derivatives continued until 2006.