The Avanti started life in 1962 as the Raymond Loewy designed flagship sports car of Studebaker automobile company. Despite the demise of Studebaker itself the intrinsic strengths of the Avanti have allowed it to remain at the forefront of American sports cars for more than a generation. The original Avantis were produced in the Studebaker factory in South Bend, Indiana. After periods in Youngstown, Ohio; and Villa Rica, Georgia; the manufacturing operation was transferred to Cancun, Mexico in 2006.The Avanti continued to use the original, Studebaker designed, frame until the 1987 model year when a General Motors platform was adopted. Not only did this provide a significant technical advance it also facilitated the introduction of the first Avanti convertible. In the late 1990´s Tom Kellogg, who had been a member of Loewy´s original design team that worked on the Avanti, was commissioned to design the next generation Avanti to be known as the AVX. Kellogg´s re-style brought a modern context to Loewy´s original design and subsequent changes have been both subtle and sympathetic, ensuring the cars remain unmistakably Avantis.The Avanti continued to use General Motors platforms and engines until 2004, when they were replaced by Ford units. For the 2006 model year the Company took the opportunity to use a new Ford platform and its longer wheelbase liberated extra interior space whilst at the same time offering improvements handling and ride comfort. For 2007 the changes were largely under the skin targetting comfort, convenience and overall customer satisfaction making to current cars to best Avantis to date. They no longer are produced, last made and sold in early 2007.