The Avanti was born in a two-room bungalow in Palm Springs, California in March 1961. Raymond Loewy put John Ebstein in charge of the Avanti project. Ebstein worked with Tom Kellogg to do most of the drawing while Robert Andrews built scale models and worked on the interior. In just two weeks, they had completed an initial design, which included air-brushed paintings by Ebstein, to present to Studebaker. The Avanti had a Coke-bottle shape, with a narrowing in the middle that inspired European racing cars for a generation. The interior was inspired by aircraft flight decks, with numerous toggle switches on the console. The radically styled, powerful sports coupe did not fulfill its intended purpose of saving its maker from financial collapse, but it has become revered among design devotees as one of the world's most consummate sports cars.

John Wilhelm Ebstein was born in Stettin, Germany, on May 14, 1912. He began his architectural studies in Stuttgart, then fled the country by motorcycle with his possessions strapped to his back when Hitler assumed power in 1933. He continued his studies in Paris and Prague, where he earned an architectural degree. He immigrated to the United States in 1938 and joined Loewy Associates the same year. Shortly after Mr. Ebstein accompanied Loewy to the White House to discuss the Air Force One design with President John F. Kennedy in 1963, he resigned from Loewy's group so he could spend more of his time on designing and less on administration. He joined Gabriel Industries as chief designer and patented many toys and sporting goods. In late 1994 or early 1995 he designed the logo used by the Florida chapter of the Avanti Owners Association International; the chapter is named in his honor.