Studebaker Golden Hawk
The Studebaker Golden Hawk was a two - door hardtop coupe with no B -pillar, which was by the Studebaker Corporation of South Bend (Indiana) made from 1956 to 1958. It was the last Studebaker Avanti before, its styling was influenced by the famous design office of Raymond Loewy. The Golden Hawk had the basic shape of the models Champion and Commander Starliner; but it has a large, nearly vertical grille added honeycomb pattern, as well as a higher engine hood line in place of the former tapered nose, a higher boot lid and the rear fins.
This grille and raised hood were necessary to accommodate the V8 engine of 5.8 liters with Packard displacement and an output of 275 bhp (202 kW). This large, powerful machine in such a light wagon gave the Golden Hawk a phenomenal power to weight for its time (with appropriate handling characteristics ). Of all the American series vehicles 1956 Golden Hawk had the second lowest power to weight ratio and had to admit defeat to the Chrysler 300 B - and the more expensive Chrysler was after all an approved off-road sports car in the NASCAR series. The Golden Hawk, as the Chrysler 300 B, are considered to be precursors of the muscle cars of the 1960s. The heavy machine brought the car the reputation of being top-heavy and difficult to drive, but contemporary tests prove otherwise. The Speed Age magazine tested the Golden Hawk in July 1956 against the Chrysler 300 B, the Ford Thunderbird and the Chevrolet Corvette, and it was found that the Golden Hawk others in the acceleration from 0 to 100 km / h just outplayed as in the times for the quarter mile. The largest acceleration provided the magazine with 7.9 seconds / 0-100 km / h is fixed and the top speed of over 200 km / h Film enthusiasts remember a demonstration of these values by Charlie and Raymond Babbitt (Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman ) in the 1988 movie Rain Man.
There was a wide selection of colors (including two color finishes, according to the prevailing taste ). In two-color paint systems were initially the front upper part of the body, the roof and the rear apron painted in a contrasting color, the rest of the body in color. From the end of 1956, the body was above the belt line and the trunk lid in contrasting color painted, while the rear end plate, the roof and the body parts were kept below the waistline in color.
An extended list of optional extras and less basic equipment helped to keep prices as compared to the Studebaker President Speedster of the previous year, the Golden Hawk replaced, low. Even indicators were only available as an optional extra.
The Golden Hawk came out with three other models of the Studebaker -Packard Hawk Series 1956, which were all developed from models of the regular Studebaker model lineup: The Flight Hawk - coupe was a Champion, the Power Hawk - coupe was a Commander and the Sky Hawk - hardtop was a President.
The Golden Hawk was further built in 1957 and 1958, but with some changes. The Packard plant in Utica (Michigan) was rented in 1956 Curtiss -Wright and was then sold, which the production of the original Packard's put an end to. Studebaker - Packard cars with logos, there were still two more years. Packard V8 engine, which was introduced in 1955, was therefore no longer available, and through the 4.7 liter " Small block " V8 Studebaker in conjunction with a compressor McCulloch was replaced, which - as the motor - Packard - a power of 275 bhp (202 kW) developed, but weighed 82 kg less. This improved handling and top speed of the car, which made it the fastest Hack to the appearance of the GT Hawk with Avanti supercharged 1963.
The styling changed slightly. The hood got a scoop of GRP and an opening in the hood underneath to provide for the compressor place that was up front mounted on the engine. The tail fins were larger and were concave on the sides, which were painted in a contrasting color and were crowned with chrome strips. The Golden Hawk 1958 had 14 "wheels instead of the usual 15 ", which put the car a little deeper. Other changes did not occur.
The other models in the Hawk series have been completely changed 1957: The new Golden Hawk replaced his predecessor and the Sky Hawk, the new Silver Hawk was the successor to the 6 -cylinder Flight Hawk and the 8 -cylinder Power Hawk.
Located in the model year 1957, a luxurious model 400 was introduced, which was blessed with leather interior, a lined carpeted luggage compartment and special exterior decoration.
Like many other expensive cars also had the Golden Hawk from the recession of the late 1950s, suffering, and after only 878 sales in 1958, the model was discontinued. The Silver Hawk was from then on the only Hawk model; 1960 was simply sold as a Studebaker Hawk.