Studebaker
The Avanti R2 with the Paxton supercharger,
the Studebaker muscle-peak anchor.
Studebaker's 1963-onward Avanti R2 with the Paxton SN-60 centrifugal supercharger is the marque's muscle-peak anchor in the 1953–1973 window — a factory-supercharged 289 V8 at 290 hp on a wind-tunnel-shaped fiberglass body, setting Bonneville Salt Flats class-C stock-car records before the South Bend plant closed in December 1963.
Why it is different
The Studebaker V8 predates the Chevrolet small-block by four years.
Studebaker introduced its compact overhead-valve V8 in 1951 — three years before the Ford Y-block (1954) and four years before the Chevrolet small-block (1955). The 232 then 259 then 289-cubic-inch Studebaker V8 traces an unbroken line from the 1951 Commander V8 through the 1966 final South Bend production year, with the R2 Avanti iteration as the highest-output naturally-supercharged expression of that engine family.
The Avanti 289 V8 casting numbers are Studebaker-family castings — NOT a GM 289 cross-flag casting, NOT a Ford 289 small-block casting, despite the shared displacement. Reading a GM 289 block casting number against a Studebaker R2 Avanti is the off-by-one-marque error on the Studebaker V8 line.
The Paxton SN-60 supercharger mount on the R2 is authenticated by the bracket casting, the oiling-circuit routing, and the supercharger serial number — a distinct bracket from the Paxton SN-91 Novi mount on the R4. The two supercharger variants are NOT interchangeable mounts; the R2 SN-60 oiling circuit is a low-pressure return to the engine sump, the R4 SN-91 Novi uses a higher-pressure sealed-return circuit on the Novi-specific bracket casting.
Studebaker build threads → Share your Avanti R2 supercharger documentation, Bonneville build notes, and Studebaker assembly-record findings in the Studebaker build-log channel.
Timeline
Five eras across the 1953–1966 Studebaker production window.
| Era | Years | Defining platforms |
|---|---|---|
| V8 Speedster & Commander launch window | 1953–1958 | Studebaker introduces the 232-cubic-inch V8 in 1951 — a compact overhead-valve design that pre-dates both the Chevrolet small-block (1955) and the Ford Y-block (1954). The 1953 Starliner coupe and the 1954 Speedster preview the low-slung body that later anchors the Avanti project. The Commander V8 carries the 232 (later 259) through the 1950s production window. |
| Lark compact launch | 1959–1961 | Studebaker launches the Lark compact in 1959 — a downsized unibody shared with the late Hawks and the pre-Avanti Studebaker lineup. The Lark 259 V8 and the inline-six options power the compact through 1961, with the Lark Regal Hardtop as the high-trim fitment. |
| Avanti R1/R2 launch — the muscle-peak anchor | 1962–1963 | Studebaker launches the Avanti in 1962 — the Loewy Associates "lift-to-drag" wind-tunnel nose, the fiberglass body on the Lark convertible chassis, and the R1 289 V8 (240 hp naturally-aspirated) and the R2 289 V8 with the Paxton SN-60 supercharger (290 hp). The 1963 Avanti R2 is the marque muscle-peak anchor, setting class-C stock-car records at the Bonneville Salt Flats. — the marque muscle-peak anchor. |
| R4 Paxton Novi & Super Lark variants | 1963–1964 | The R4 Avanti with the Paxton SN-91 Novi supercharger (335 hp) joins the lineup for 1963 as the top-output Studebaker fitment. The Super Lark and Super Hawk variants carry the R2 engine into the Lark and Gran Turismo Hawk body shells, extending the Paxton supercharger fitment across the Studebaker range. |
| South Bend final production window | 1964–1966 | Studebaker closes the South Bend plant in December 1963, moving final US production to Hamilton, Ontario. The Lark Commander V8 and the cruiser muscle-window coupes carry on through 1966. The 1966 model year is the last US-production Studebaker before the brand closes. The 1967-onward Avanti II is an independent fitment carrying no Studebaker Motor Company provenance. |
Marque anchor
The 1963-onward Avanti R2 — the marque anchor.
Get the Studebaker Avanti R2 guide → $29.95The 1963-onward Studebaker Avanti R2 with the Paxton SN-60 centrifugal supercharger is the marque muscle-peak anchor — a factory-supercharged 289 V8 at 290 hp on the Loewy Associates "lift-to-drag" wind-tunnel nose fiberglass body. The Avanti R2 set 29 class-C stock-car records at the Bonneville Salt Flats in 1963, making it the first American production car to exceed 170 mph on a factory-installed supercharger in the stock-car class.
The Paxton SN-60 supercharger mount distinguishes the R2 from the R1 (naturally aspirated, 240 hp) and the R4 (Paxton SN-91 Novi, 335 hp). The SN-60 bracket casting, the oiling-circuit plumbing at the engine sump, and the supercharger serial number are the three authentication grounds for an R2 Avanti; the SN-91 Novi bracket uses a different casting and a sealed-return oiling circuit. Reading an SN-91 Novi mount as an SN-60 R2 mount is the off-by-one-supercharger error on the Studebaker R-model line.
The 1962 launch-year Avanti differs from the 1963-onward cars in the nose treatment — the 1962 "proto" nose has a slightly different fiberglass mold profile before the Loewy Associates wind-tunnel adjustment was incorporated at the start of 1963 production. Authentication against the production-year fiberglass mold-layup record (the Studebaker South Bend assembly data) is the distinguishing decode for a 1962-versus-1963 Avanti R2 nose.
Restoration guide
Avanti R2 — Paxton SN-60 supercharger restoration guide.
Covers the R2 289 V8 casting decode, Paxton SN-60 supercharger-mount authentication, Avanti body number decode, Studebaker South Bend assembly record, and the R1/R2/R4 supercharger fitment split — all in a single US-letter PDF.
Restoration guide
Studebaker Hawk — the 1956-1966 Hawk family restoration guide.
Covers the Hawk family across the 1956 Flight Hawk / Power Hawk / Golden Hawk / Silver Hawk launch, the 1962 Gran Turismo Hawk, the 1963 Hawk-GT 289 (distinct from the 1963 Avanti R1), the 1964 Super Hawk with the R2 289 + Paxton SN-60 on the Hawk body (distinct from the Avanti R2 fitment), and the 1964-1966 Hamilton, Ontario final-assembly window. Broadcast sheets, partial-VIN dash and block stamp, South Bend / Hamilton plant codes, numbers-matching chain.
Restoration guide
1963 Studebaker Challenger — the Lark compact R-series restoration guide.
Covers the 1963-only Studebaker Challenger compact launch on the Lark compact chassis (NOT the 1970-onward Dodge Challenger on the Chrysler E-body), the R1 single-carb / R2 dual-carb / R3 four-barrel / R4 Paxton SN-60 supercharger sequential fitment on the compact body, the 1963 Studebaker 289 V8 on the Lark compact body, the 1963-only R4 Paxton SN-60 supercharger mount on the compact chassis, and the 1963-only South Bend final compact assembly record. Partial-VIN compact-chassis stamping, body-number plate decode, numbers-matching chain.