Had it been sold by Ford, GM or Chrysler, the 1962 Studebaker Avanti might have been a real sales winner. It was a combination of Ford’s luxury Thunderbird and sporty Mustang. Another natural competitor would have been the 1963 Buick Riviera.

It was advertised as “America's only four-passenger high-performance personal car."

Trouble was, the Avanti had the misfortune to be the product of a company in which all financial indicators pointed downwards and its full potential was never realised.