Studebaker Silver Hawk
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The Studebaker Silver Hawk was an automobile produced between 1957 and 1959 by the Studebaker Corporation of South Bend, Indiana. Essentially the same car was produced for two further years (1960 and 1961) as simply the Studebaker Hawk, since from 1959 onward no other Hawk models were being sold.
The Silver Hawk was the replacement for the two lower models in the four-model Hawk range in 1956, the Flight Hawk with six-cylinder Champion power and the Power Hawk with the Commander's 259 in³ (4.2 L) V8. Both of these models were two-door pillared coupes in the US market, and therefore, so was the Silver Hawk, which came in two differently-engined models with the same engines as the two it replaced.
In appearance, the Silver Hawk was a simplified version of the Golden Hawk, the upper of the two Hawk models in 1957-58. There was a little bit less chrome, no supercharger bulge in the hood, and a simpler two-tone paint scheme was adopted - simply one color below the chrome belt line and another above.
In the midst of a financial crisis at Studebaker after a disastrous recession-year performance in 1958, the Golden Hawk was dropped. 1959's Silver Hawk was to be the only Hawk model in production; it was itself kept on largely because Studebaker dealers wanted a glamorous flagship model as a dealership draw. Those customers would more likely walk out with Studebaker's last-ditch hope, the new Lark compact. In fact, the Silver Hawk was the only non-Lark model kept. 1959's Silver Hawk actually was something of a combination of Golden Hawk and Silver Hawk features. The 'Silver Hawk' script moved to the fins instead of the trunk lid, with a new Hawk badge in between the two words. The parking lights moved to the side grilles from the front fenders, chrome moldings around the windows from the Golden Hawk were added, and the interior was somewhere in between the two former models' levels of luxury. Two-tone paint was discontinued for all US orders, though it was still available for export.
Studebaker's 1959 model year was their first profitable year for six years, thanks to the Lark, and thus the Silver Hawk, which sold 7,788 examples, got to live another day as well. 1960's models were just named Hawk, since there were no other Hawk models in the range, but were otherwise largely unchanged externally from the '59. Internally, the main change was the return of the 289 cubic inch V8, as used on the Golden Hawk, but without the supercharger. This was the only engine available for US orders in both 1960 and 1961, the last year of the Hawk model. Some 6-cylinder and 259 in³ (4.2 L) V8 models were built for export markets. 1961 models saw the limited return of a second paint color, in a stripe along the base of the fin and around the side grilles.
1963 saw a new Studebaker Gran Turismo Hawk replacement.
| Studebaker-Packard Hawk series | |
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| Studebaker: | Golden Hawk - Sky Hawk - Power Hawk - Flight Hawk - Silver Hawk - Hawk - GT Hawk |
| Packard: | Hawk |