The Studebaker Hawk story can get confusing. Though initially produced in 1953 as the Commander and Champion Starliner hardtop and Starlight coupe, they were produced in an array of models by the time the style was discontinued for 1965. Our Pick of the Day is a 1959 Studebaker Silver Hawk, one of the lesser-known incarnations of this style. It is listed for sale on ClassicCars.com by a private seller in Brandford, Connecticut. (Click the link to view the listing)
For 1953-54, the Studebaker coupes were Starliner hardtops and Starlight (pillared) coupes, available in as a Commander V8 and Champion six. For 1955, Studebaker rearranged things and offered the President State hardtop and coupe, Commander V8 coupe, and Champion six hardtop and coupe, with the special President Speedster topping the range.
Starting in 1956, the two-doors were given a heavy facelift with a prominent grille and, in some models, rear fins. The Golden Hawk hardtop was the all-new heavy of the bunch, with the Sky Hawk V8 hardtop, Power Hawk V8 coupe, and Flight Hawk six coupe rounding out the series. For 1957, the Golden Hawk continued on, now joined by the new Silver Hawk coupe. The Silver Hawk was the sole Hawk for 1959, then the series simply became “Hawk” for 1960-61. That was replaced by the impressive, Brooks Stevens-tweaked Gran Turismo Hawk for 1962-64.
The 1959 Silver Hawk was “built for performance designed for function,” according to Studebaker. The L-head six and 259 V8 were available, the latter offering 180 horsepower with a two-barrel and 195 with a four-pot. This one features the two-barrel and is backed by a three-speed manual with overdrive. “Everything works as it should,” says the seller. “No rust anywhere, as it spent most of its time in Texas.”
Per the seller, most of the refinishing took place in 2017 under previous ownership, plus the tires and Truspoke wire wheels are new, so we can infer there’s plenty of collectible cruising left in this vehicle’s future. Wish to be part of this Stude’s future? Then go to the bank and get $32,500.
Click here for this ClassicCars.com Pick of the Day.
The GranTurismos produced from 1962 -’64 were the best designs ever produced by Studebaker ! They are rarely encountered except at Studebaker shows . Sales were rather slow especially the last two years of production ’63 & the final year 1964 with only around 1,700 sold . Studebaker closed their doors for good in 1966 . Happy Motoring !
Hello,
Do you have additional pictures of the above silver hawk?
You need to follow the links in this story to get to the ad for the car.
These Studebaker Hawks were great cars, I sorry as an older Studebaker Dealer, I didn’t push the sales of these classic cars more. The sales of them in my dealership was lower, mainly due to the fact, that there wasn’t any great paying jobs in our area, The ones that I did sell were mostly the 55 Speedster, and the Golden Hawks, most of my sales were Sedans and Station wagons. What Studebaker really needed was Lee Iacocca, I think that they would still be around Selling Cars to this day, the Corp is still her as the other divisions are still here making money.
So how much is seller asking?
So you didn’t read the story?
These finned Hawks are getting some love in the collector car market, at last.
The price isn’t bad considering you’d look a long time to find one as nice.
I love the color scheme!