Bob's Resource Website

1963

R-0023


1963 Studebaker Avanti Concept car: the Kellogg Coupe

2-passenger Avanti, designed by Tom Kellogg, member of the Raymond Loewy design team that created the original 1963 Studebaker Avanti.

When Tom Kellogg designed the body for the 1963 Avanti, he envisioned a two-passenger car to compete with the Corvette. The photo shows Tom holding the first clay model of the Avanti, designed as a two-passenger. (Tom is on the right. Loewy is second from left holding his poodle. Bob Andrews and John Ebstein are also in the photo.) Studebaker decided to make the Avanti a 4-passenger, so Toms 2-passenger was not built in 1963.

Fast-forward thirty years to 1993. Tom Kellogg met Jim Bunting and they decided to build the 2-passanger Studebaker Avanti that Tom had envisioned in 1963. (note: Jim Bunting is the guy who worked with Tom to create the AVX, a contemporary version of the Avanti.)

The color design rendering by Tom shown here (included with the price of the car) shows how the car goes from being a 4-passenger with a rear window, to a 2-passenger with no rear window. Compare it with a standard Avanti to see the difference.

After the final design was approved, the team started with an R2 4-speed, 63 R0023, and took the car apart and sectioned 7 inches out of the middle. The line drawing shows how the window disappears and the pillar gets wider.

Tom restyled the body and beltline for the shorter car, and supervised the body work, including body contours from nose to deck, new doors, new windows. The car is painted in 1963 Avanti turquoise, base coat, clear coat. (The paint job alone cost $6,000, the total project cost was $128,000.)

Tom Kellogg also designed the interior with a couple of nifty compartments, trimmed in chrome and fawn. (see Kellogg drawing and photo of interior.)

The car is axactly as it would have been if it had been built in 1963. Every part is 100% correct and perfect. All numbers match: body, engine, frame.

The car has the original four-speed manual, and is supercharged with the original Paxton blower. Because it is lighter than a 4-passenger Avanti, it goes fast.

Included with the price of the car is Toms color rendering (18 x 24) and the photo of Tom holding the first clay model. The color rendering is not for sale separately.