1958 Studebaker Golden Hawk

 

 The Studebaker Golden Hawk has been produced by the Studebaker Corporation of South Bend, Indiana between 1956 and 1958.

 

The raised hood and grille were added to allow space for the larger engine of Packard‘s 352 in³ (5,8 L) V8, which delivered 275 bhp (205 kW). This comparatively large, powerful engine in such a light car gave the Golden Hawk an excellent power-to-weight ration (and thus performance) for the time; of 1956 American prduction cars, the Golden Wawk was second only to Chrysler‘s 300 B by that measure - and the Chrysler, which cost considerably more, was essentially a road-legal NASCAR racing car. The Golden Hawk, like the Chryslers, is a precursor to the muscle cars of the 1960s.

 

Speed Age magazine of July 1956 tested the Golden Hawk against the Chrysler 300 B, Ford Thunderbird and Chevrolet Corvette, finding that the Golden Hawk could out-perform the others comfortably in both 0-60 mph acceleration and quarter mile times. The fastest 0-60 reported in magazine testing was 7.8 seconds, while top speeds were quoted as 125 mph (201 km/h) plus.

 

Packard‘s Utica, Michigan engine plant was leased to Curtiss-Wright during 1956 (and eventually sold to them), marking the end of genuine Packard production. Packard-badged cars were produced for two more years, but they were essentially rebadged Studebakers. The Packard V8, introduced only two years earlier, was therefore no longer available. It was replaced with the Studebaker 289 in³ (4.7 L) V8 with the addition of a McCulloch supercharger, giving the same 275 hp (205 kW) output as the Packard engine. This improved the car‘s top speed, making these the best-performing Hawks until the Gran Turismo Hawk became available with the Avanti‘s R2 supercharged engine for the 1963 model year.

 

Like many more expensive Cars, Golden Hawk sales were heavily hit by the late 1950s recession, and the model was discontinued after only produced 878 examples in 1958.

 

This car is a frame on restauration of 2015. New seat covers in vinyl, new carpets, new door cladding, all chrome polished and partly replaced, engine overhauled. Certificate classic data from 2016 = 1-.