Avanti as Found in Baltimore, 1963

The Studebaker Avanti was a styling sensation when it first appeared.  Well, it certainly was to me when I saw a photo of it in the New York Times when it had its public debut at the New York auto show, 26 April 1962.

I'll eventually get around to doing a more complete commentary, but for now I'd like to indulge myself.  Below are scans from photographic slides I took of an Avanti in Baltimore sometime around April of 1963.  The setting was North Charles Street.

The camera I was using was essentially a 35 mm. snapshot camera by Voigtländer.  One fixed lens, perhaps a built-in exposure meter (I forget, but probably not).  At any rate, the quality of its images was mixed.  On bright, sunny days it did a pretty good job.  But under marginal lighting conditions -- not so good.  The Avanti photos were taken in a shady setting, so if you click for a full enlargement, the result isn't totally sharp.

Regardless, I hope you enjoy viewing an Avanti when it was new.

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