Studebaker Hawk
The Studebaker Silver Hawk was a passenger car manufactured by Studebaker Corporation in South Bend, Indiana from 1957 to 1959. Basically the same vehicle was built under the name Studebaker Hawk in 1960 and 1961 , as there was no other Hawk model on offer at that time.
The Silver Hawk replaced the two weaker models of the four-link Hawk range from 1956, the Flight Hawk with the six-cylinder engine of the Champion and the Power Hawk with the 4.2 liter V8 engine of the Commander . Both models were coupes with B-pillars for the US market, and so was the Silver Hawk. It was available in three engine versions: with the 4.7 liter V8 engine of the President , as a double carburetor version with 210 bhp (154 kW) and quadruple carburetor version with 225 bhp (165 kW), or with the 3 liter in-line six-cylinder engine of the Champion with 101 bhp (75 kW).
In terms of appearance, the Silver Hawk was the coupe version with B-pillars of the Golden Hawk , the higher-up of the two Hawk models from 1957 and 1958. It had a little less chrome trim and a somewhat simpler two-tone paint job - just one color above the belt line and the others below, but different from the photo, the lower shade included the tail fins. Many of the specimens were ordered by dealers in pure white only on the tail fins, and sometimes the lower edge of the roof or the right and left "side grills" were painted in a contrasting color from the Studebaker range. This contrasting color usually matched the interior; some were blue, gold, red or black, and some owners believed that looked better than the two-tone factory paintwork.
In the midst of Studebaker's financial crisis after the disastrous sales figures of the 1958 recession, the Golden Hawk ran out. Therefore, the 1959 Silver Hawk was the only Hawk model that was still in production; it was only kept in the program because the dealers wanted at least a glamorous flagship to attract customers. These customers, however, bought Studebaker's last hope, the "compact car" Lark . In fact, the Silver Hawk was the only Studebaker model still available other than the Lark. In 1959 the Silver Hawk was a kind of combination of the equipment of the Golden Hawk and the Silver Hawk of the previous year: The inscription "Silver Hawk" moved from the trunk lid to the tail fins and now had the new Hawk emblem between the two words. The parking lights were moved from the front fenders to the side grills, there were chrome surrounds on the windows, as on the Golden Hawk of 1953 and 1954, and the interior had inherited something from both models. The two-tone paintwork was only available for the export models.
Thanks to the Lark, 1959 was the first for Studebaker after six lean years in which profit was made again, and so the Silver Hawk was able to continue to live a little with its 7,788 sales. The new models for 1960 were simply called "Hawk" since there was no other Hawk left, and they were carried over from 1959 relatively unchanged. The only difference was the adoption of the 4.7-liter V8 engine previously used in the Golden Hawk, but without the compressor. This was the only motor available for the US models in 1960 and 1961, the final year of the fin models. Some six-cylinder and 4.2 liter V8 engines were built into export models. In 1961 the two-tone paintwork was returned to a limited extent: beige in a stripe at the base of the tail fins.
In 1962 the model was replaced by the new Studebaker Gran Turismo Hawk .
Almost the end of the series?
At the beginning of the 1960 model year, US automakers were threatened with a steel strike, and the shortage of steel hit Studebaker - much smaller than AMC or the "Big Three" - particularly hard.
Studebaker had a model in the Lark from 1959 that was proven to be easy to sell, which was continued with small changes in 1960. Against the background of the steel shortage, the company decided to focus on producing as many Lark as possible so that the dealers could be adequately supplied with new cars. The production of the Silver Hawk fell behind in November and December 1959.
To the disadvantage of Studebaker - but to the advantage of Hawk customers - the Lark's sales dropped in the last few months of 1959. By early February 1960, the Hawk models were finally being made on the lines in South Bend.
It is unknown what would have happened if the Lark had remained at the 1959 model year level, but there is some suspicion that the company would not have built a Hawk by then. The long period between the announcement of the new model and the start of Hawk production only shows how close the company was to not producing a model that it had advertised at least half-heartedly in brochures.
Fortunately, the Hawk lived on, and later that model year, a production model in its class won the Mobil Economy Run at 12.5 liters / 100 km.