The dusty book of automotive history is littered with cars that were ahead of their time. These were vehicles that left customers a little befuddled, only for another car to come along with a similar idea a year or two later and suddenly have a smash hit on their hands. Think of the Audi A2. This high-end small car, with aluminum construction and classy, upmarket styling, was introduced in 1999. In the end, Audi sold 176,377 units in six years.The BMW Mini, which arrived two years later, had a similar concept but has now been in production for more than two decades, with 295,474 vehicles sold in 2023 alone. Then there was the underrated four-wheel-drive AMC Eagle which arrived in 1980, just 20 years early to the crossover party that the likes of the Audi allroad quattro helped to get off the ground.And so it was with another ambitious model, this time an American coupe that could well be the first ever muscle car fitted with a supercharger. You could even argue that this peculiar automobile was the first American muscle car ever produced. Period. It came out before the Pontiac GTO and was there before the Shelby GT350 Paxton. It's rare, didn't sell particularly well, and managed to outlive many of its automotive contemporaries in one form or another, even though many people won't have a clue what it is. The 1963 Studebaker Avanti R2 Was The First Supercharged Muscle Car Bring A Trailer Even the name, Studebaker, sounds old. The company has plenty of history, dating back to the mid-1800s when it produced wagons and carts. Cars from Studebaker were grand and stately until the 1950s when the company had a go at being ultra-modern, bringing out the Champion, which was supposed to look like an airplane, but in reality, looked like a mash-up of five different cartoon animals. The Studebaker Avanti Had A Mission To Help Save The Company Bring A Trailer What Studebaker needed, decided new president Sherwood Egbert, in 1961, was a sports car that could bring in a cooler clientele. What the company came up with was the Avanti, a pretty yet kooky coupe that was light-years ahead of its time. Based on the chassis of a Lark Convertible, the Avanti had a European-looking swooping coupe body with round headlights, four seats, and a 289-cubic-inch Studebaker V8. This version, says Hagerty.com, had a $4,445 price tag new – roughly the same as a four-speed Corvette coupe. Whereas other manufacturers would then source larger V8s in search of increased power, Studebaker took a different route. Studebaker Bolted A Supercharger To The 1963 Avanti's R2's V8 Bring A Trailer The standard V8 version was rated at 240 horsepower and named the R1, but come 1963, Studebaker offered the Avanti as a supercharged model too, with a Paxton blower taking the output up to 280 horsepower. According to Hemmings, Only 1,552 Avanti R2 versions were produced in 1963 and even fewer – 281 – left the factory in 1964.There was even an R3 version based on the supercharged R2, with the Studebaker 289 V8 bored out to 304.5 cubic inches and power output reaching a claimed 400 horsepower, although 335 (according to Hagerty) horses seems more likely. Inside the R3, there was also an 8,000 rpm rev counter instead of the 6,000 rpm instrument fitted in standard cars. The first R3, an early prototype completed in April 1962, was taken to the Nevada desert where it clocked a top speed of more than 170 mph. Egbert himself even tested out the car's top speed, taking it up to 168 mph. Just nine R3 Avantis were built in total, says RM Sotheby's. An R4 with fuel injection and hot cams was developed, with more than 560 horsepower, but it didn't make it to production. Here's What Made The Avanti So Forward-Thinking Bring a TrailerStudebaker Avanti R2 Specs In some ways, the Avanti was just too advanced. The styling was otherworldy, whereas cars like the Pontiac GTO were like wild versions of your dad's car – they didn't deviate too much from what people knew but offered something fresh and exciting all the same.The Avanti on the other hand, had strange new advanced selling points, such as a strange fiberglass body, way before the likes of TVR were using the same material for its wild sports cars. The Avanti was also fitted with 11.5-inch Dunlop disc brakes up front, and there were plenty of modern options such as an AM/FM radio. The Avanti's Customization Options Were Also Way Ahead Of Their Time Bring A Trailer Then there was the almost endless customization on offer. These days, everything from Minis to Smarts to the new Callum Skye EV offer cool individualization options to personalize your new car.The R2 option was a fairly cheap add-on at just $210. With this option box ticked, customers had a sporty supercharged V8 coupe that would hit 60 mph in 7.5 seconds, and go on to 120 mph, although Hagerty.com says that one near-stock R2 reached 158 mph. By this point, one magazine was calling the Avanti 'America's Ferrari'. Then came the end for the Avanti. Having been built in 1963 and 1964, Studebaker pulled the plug, just as the Pontiac GTO arrived, widely considered to be the first muscle car. The Studebaker Avanti Is A Classic Bargain Today Bring A Trailer Studebaker Avanti Pricing 1963 Studebaker Avanti R1: $23,700 1963 Studebaker Avanti R2: $36,500 1964 Studebaker Avanti R1: $23,700 1964 Studebaker Avanti R2: $36,500 1964 Studebaker Avanti R3: $78,500 Source: Hagerty Valuation Tools (Good Condition)The Studebaker Avanti was a futuristic car that used a fairly novel approach to going quicker than many of the fast cars of its time. Despite these achievements and the fact that the early models are relatively rare compared to the muscle cars of the day, the Avanti is fairly affordable. The entry, non-supercharged version costs just $23,700 in 2025. The supercharged R2 models are not that much more at $36,500.The ultra-rare R3 model, of which there are less than ten in existence, is naturally more expensive, but $78,500 is not a lot for such a special car. If you really want a cheap Avanti, seek out a V8 four-door of the '90s – we found this one that sold for $7,400. The Avanti Story Didn't End With Studebaker Bring A Trailer The Avanti didn't manage to save Studebaker and the company stopped making cars altogether in 1966. Even though the company was gone, two Studebaker-Packard dealers named Nate Altman and Leo Newman saw a future for the Avanti. Sadly, while the car was saved, the supercharged unit was a casualty.When Avantis started being sold again in 1965, they featured 350 horsepower Chevrolet 327 V8s. Interestingly, around this time, Chevelles also had a 327 option and Chevrolet couldn't shift them quickly enough, with 378,618 Chevelles in total sold in 1965. The Avanti Soldiered On For Decades Bring A TrailerThe Avanti II followed the path of being a customizable car, with plenty of individualization options, and also continued into the '70s with a 350-cubic-inch GM mill, plus the option of a 400. Real estate developer Steve Blake bought the company in the early '80s and kept Avantis in production until 1985. At this point you could argue that some manufacturers were now making their worst muscle cars, while the Avanti had developed into its best. The car was briefly resurrected in the late '80s and '90s, with a four-door model being offered.