Solved - NEH 1369: Studebaker Avanti Sedan prototype

[Carnut]

For 1 point - what is this car?

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[wingroad]

Looks like the saloon variant of the Raymond Loewy designed Studebaker Avanti

[Carnut]

Looks like the saloon variant of the Raymond Loewy designed Studebaker Avanti

Actually I didn't think it looked much like the Avanti Coupe, but clearly your eye is better than mine because that's exactly what it is!

[Otto Puzzell]

Title fixed (Avanti, not Avant)

[Carnut]

Title fixed (Avanti, not Avant)

Thanks - maybe it was a Freudian slip whilst I was thinking about Audis...!

[Carnut]

And it looks like this from the rear:

[Otto Puzzell]

Actually I didn't think it looked much like the Avanti Coupe, but clearly your eye is better than mine because that's exactly what it is!

The wheel covers were a dead give-away. 

[wingroad]

It was relatively easy because I read aboutold Studebaker prototypes in Special Interest Autos magazine on the Hemmings website in case  anybody thought I got it rather quickly,just an educated guess really!!!

[Otto Puzzell]

This car, and many other interesting what-if cars, is part of the collection at the Studebaker museum in South Bend, Indiana.

[bentleybob]

There was even a four door prototype, but I don't know if it ever progressed beyond a mockup or whether it survived. I am also wondering if Raymond Loewy was still involved in these developments based on the coupe

[Otto Puzzell]

Two different Avanti sedan prototypes were designed by Loewy's team - the black, formal roof sedan that was the puzzle car, and fastback sedan that more closely resembled the Avanti coupe that entered production. Each sedan prototype, constructed by longtime Loewy favorite Pichon Parat had two doors on the driver's side, and a single door on the curb side. The fastback is the gold example behind the black car in the picture I added. A better look can be had here: