| Raymond
Loewy left Studebaker
in 1955 and went abroad to build a series of sports coupes that
would influence the new design from South Bend. The most significant
of these were a BMW 507 roadster,
displayed at the 1957 Paris Auto Show, and a Lancia, unveiled
in 1960. The Lancia was dubbed "Loraymo" using a jumble
of letters from the designer's name. Automotive writer Len
Frank said of the Loraymo, "The outsized grille was
flanked by cutaway flying fenders and headlights on stalks reminiscent
of the eyes of a hammerhead shark." The BMW
507 established a basic fast-back shape that was embellished
with sculpturing in the Lancia Loraymo and considerably refined
in the Avanti. Neither the BMW 507
nor the Lancia Loraymo benefitted from the influence of Sherwood
Egbert, John Ebstein, and Tom
Kellog. Raymond Loewy
Website |
Mrs. Loewy and Raymond Loewy with
the Lancia Loraymo. |
