| Sherwood
Egbert collected clippings
and doodled on envelopes then called on industrial designer
Raymond Loewy to design a sports car in
two weeks. Loewy assembled a design
team in Palm Springs that included John Ebstein, Robert
Andrews, and Tom Kellogg. Sketches
and a scale model were produced and Egbert flew his own plane
to Palm Springs, suggested a few changes, then gave the go-ahead.
Further changes were made to a full-scale
model, including Egbert's insistence that the rake of the front
windshield be decreased. When Egbert presented the clay model to the Studebaker board of directors
it recieved a "standing ovation." Initial public
response was enthusiastic, dealers begged for the cars, and the
Avanti was a hit at auto shows. A sign over the car in South
Bend proclaimed that "a new star is born." It seemed
that Egbert and his dream car would save Studebaker.
Then engineering and production problems caused potential
buyers to cancel more and more orders. Avanti production was
halted in November 1963. Egbert's dream, Studebaker's
"swan song," and Loewy's
masterpiece seemed destined for premature oblivion. But the
Avanti is no ordinary car: it defied that fate, survived for
four more decades, and was still in production as the new century began. |
Raymond Loewy and Sherwood Egbert with
the new Avanti.
|
