Down on the Street - Palm Springs Edition

While cruising around Palm Springs earlier in the week, I spent plenty of time on the lookout for cool cars. With about 1.2 Mercedes Benz R107-era SLs per capita and more Bentleys than I see in an average month, I had to find something a bit unique. And this Avanti fits the bill.

Rough around the edges and faded in all it's resplendent mid-century modern glory, just like Palm Springs itself.

suche nach den Klaüs!

With its iconic design penned for the Studebaker Corporation by industrial design master Raymond Loewy back in 1962, this design still looks relatively fresh. Then again, with such an advanced design, these cars were built up through the 1990s with minimal changes made to the exteriors.
With a lack of CHMSL (mandated for 1986+ model year autos in the US) I'm guessing this one dates from the early-80s and has GM F-body underpinnings.

Unfortunately the square headlamps are nowhere near as elegant as the round sealed-beams on the original Avantis.
Looks as if the desert heat has taken its toll on the Earl Scheib-level paint job.