Avanti Gab!

[mfg]

Opinion!.... Aside from its  revolutionary styling, the most 'newsworthy' feature found on the  (then) new 1963 Studebaker Avanti was.......?......

1) supercharger.....2) advanced, safety interior......3) disc brakes.....or.....4) speed records set

[r1lark]

Opinion................there had been a number of supercharged (centrifugal and turbocharged) cars by the time the Avanti was introduced, so I don't think that was so newsworthy. While the speed records got press in 'enthusiast' magazines, the general public probably didn't care much. My opinion is that the disc brakes were the most newsworthy feature on the Avanti.

Edited January 27, 2023 by r1lark
spelling correction

[wdaly]

Same.

[mfg]

2 hours ago, r1lark said:

Opinion................there had been a number of supercharged (centrifugal and turbocharged) cars by the time the Avanti was introduced, so I don't think that was so newsworthy. While the speed records got press in 'enthusiast' magazines, the general public probably didn't care much. My opinion is that the disc brakes were the most newsworthy feature on the Avanti.

I second that Paul!

[Gunslinger]

The Avanti was the first American car to have modern caliper disc brakes as standard…a big safety point.  There had previously been cars with disc brakes but were outliers in the scheme of the industry…the Crosley Hot Shot had spot disc brakes…whatever spot discs are…but the Crosley wasn’t a good seller.

A completely padded interior for safety was a great advertising point as well but probably didn’t carry the same cache as the brake advance.

[mfg]

14 minutes ago, Gunslinger said:

The Avanti was the first American car to have modern caliper disc brakes as standard…a big safety point.  There had previously been cars with disc brakes but were outliers in the scheme of the industry…the Crosley Hot Shot had spot disc brakes…whatever spot discs are…but the Crosley wasn’t a good seller.

A completely padded interior for safety was a great advertising point as well but probably didn’t carry the same cache as the brake advance.

Very true.

[Nelson]

Probably disc brakes

[mfg]

1 hour ago, Nelson said:

Probably disc brakes

Yes, in '63 disc brakes seemed like a giant leap forward....and they were!!