1962 Granatelli Studebaker E40 Bonneville Hauler (#E40 4883)

Almost Famous is Cameron Crowe’s semi-auto-biographical film about a teenage journalist who lands a writing gig with Rolling Stone magazine and tours with an up-and-coming rock band and their fetching groupies. The boyish Crowe character travels alongside his musical heroes, falls in love with Penny Lane (played by Kate Hudson), but throughout it all, remains very much almost famous.

This month’s Hidden Treasure catalogs the almost famous history of a vehicle that never actually turned a wheel in competition. Our subject automobile did, however, play an important role during a legendary land speed record assault at the Bonneville Salt Flats. In August of 1962, over a 12-hour period, racing superstar Andy Granatelli set 29 American stock car records driving a Studebaker Avanti, powered by an ultra-rare supercharged R-3 engine. The record-breaking speeds included both standing and flying starts and distances ranging from one to 10 miles and kilometers. According to period advertisements by the Studebaker Corporation, the top speed attained during the record-setting runs was 178.5 mph.