The Avanti was introduced by Studebaker in late 1962 after an ultra-quick design program. Despite this, the Avanti has lived on as one of the most enduring and inspirational designs ever. Available in four versions, R1-R4 (R2 and R3 were supercharged). The Avanti caused a sensation among the crowd at the 1962 New York Auto Show, and the orders for the new Avanti soon outnumbered the orders for the also-new Chevrolet Corvette Sting Ray. Problems with getting the fiberglass bodies to fit, however, delayed production and many would-be Avanti owners bought a Corvette instead. The car was amazing on the track and it caught the attention of Paxton Products president Andy Granatelli. Granatelli added more high- performance gear to the existing supercharged R2 to make the 330 bhp supercharged R3 and the 280 bhp R4 with a 4-barrel carb. Unfortunately though, only nine R3’s and no R4’s ever left the factory. The Avanti engine was available in four versions named the R-1, R-2, R-3 and R-4 . They were based upon a 232-cubic-inch V8 Studebaker engine that produced 120 hp when introduced in 1951. By 1963 the Avanti version of this engine, the R-1 289, produced 240 hp. The optional R-2 version with its Paxton supercharger produced a rated 289 hp, or one per each cubic inch of engine displacement. This particular car was recently purchased out of an estate in northern Michigan from an ex GM executive. Since February of 2001, the car has been in his collection, rarely driven. Within the past year, the car has gone through a complete, quality paint job and has had all the seats recovered in the original styled vinyl. The carpet is new as well and finished in black which looks great with the burgundy seats. The car does have some mechanical issues that are going to need to be sorted out before driving the car any distance. The supercharger is currently disconnected and does not have a belt running to it and the car does smoke while running. Outside, the car has just recently been through a complete repaint. The car shows very well with no blemishes to the outside with the exception of some small scratches. The front and rear steel bumpers look very good and are original for the car. There is only some minor pitting showing to them, overall they look very good. All the trim pieces as well as window trim are in very good condition and have a good shine. Glass is good with no chips or cracks to any of it. Inside, the seats have been reupholstered in burgundy vinyl and the carpet is brand new. Both of which look great with no major wear to be found. The dash is original for the car and does show some cracking which is not uncommon for these. The paint is peeling off around the gauges as well in a few spots. The steering wheel is solid with the exception of one small crack to the bottom. All gauges are in good working order as well as the lights, blinkers, wipers and horn. The 289 Cu In V8 under the hood does start and run ok but the car does smoke. We have checked the compression in all 8 holes and it is showing around 150 - 160 lbs in each. We just don’t have the time right now to dig into the motor any deeper to fix the problem. The belt has been removed from the supercharger but it still spins and is not frozen. The underside of the car is very solid with no rot to the floors or inner rockers. This is a very solid example of an R2, supercharged Avanti that are getting harder and harder to find. The current mileage on the car shows 32,609 and the VIN number is R4058. The car is being sold on a clean Michigan title.