Studebaker GT Hawk, 1962 GT Hawk | Conceptcarz.com - Pictures, Pricing, Information, Wallpaper, History

The Gran Turismo Hawk was unveiled in 1962 after the brilliant redesign by Brooks Stevens on a shoestring budget. By 1961 the original Hawk design began to look aged, and the public was not buying them. Brooks Stevens did a miracle reskin of the car by putting on a new grille, shaving off the fins, and adding a new, squarer roofline. The public immediately responded and sales nearly tripled. The design was continued with very little changed until 1964, but when the South Bend plant closed, so did the story of this short lived version of the long lived Hawk.

From 1962 through 1964 Studebaker produced the Gran Turismo Hawk, also known as the GT Hawk. The GT Hawk was an iteration of the Hawk series which had begun with the Golden Hawk in 1956. The styling was performed by Brooks Stevens using the prior Hawk cars as a starting point. The hood was retained while the radiator and grille borrowed inspiration from Mercedes-Benz. The GT Hawks was a marriage of both European and American styling and influences. The rear end was similar to that of a Lincoln while the roofline closely resembled a Ford Thunderbird. The result was a modern car that was both smooth and aerodynamic. It was sold in the US and other countries, such as Great Britain and Australia. In the US, sales were slow, with only 8,388 examples being produced in its inaugural year. 947 were produced for other countries during that year. This would be its strongest year, as sell fell to 4,009 for 1962, plus an additional 625 for export. Only 1,484 US examples were produced in 1964 and 283 for export.

Many areas of the vehicles were designed to be inexpensive to produce. The rear window was flat and recessed; the underpinnings and chassis of the car were nearly identical to prior Hawks. The engine bay could accept a variety of Studebaker engines which could be matted to a three-speed manual, four-speed or Flight-O-Matic automatic gearbox. The engines ranged from a 4.7-liter V8 engine that produced just over 210 horsepower to a supercharged 5-liter engine that produced over 330 horsepower. The cars low weight and front disc brakes made it a solid performance machine.

Minor styling improvements were made for 1963. The rectangular parking lights were replaced with round units. The side of the dash were wood grain which made it similar in appearance to the rest of the instruments. Changes followed in 1964 such as a 'Studebaker Hawk' nameplate appearing on the trunk lid. The grille was again updated, now having a Hawk emblem in the center of the grille. A circle-S ornament could also be found on the grille shell. The top was a half-vinyl-covered roof which had been part of Stevens original designs but never made it into production in prior models. Wheel covers, similar to the other Studebaker models, were added. A silver-threaded cloth upholstery was added to the list of options, and for the first time, AM/FM radio could be ordered on the GT Turismo.

1962 Studebaker GT Hawk
Year	1962
Make	Studebaker
Model	GT Hawk
Body Style	Hardtop - Eight
Engine Location	Front
Drive Type	Rear Wheel
Production Years for Series	1962 - 1964
Price	$3,096.00
Weight	3280 lbs \| 1487.8 kg
Combined MPG	0.00

Engine [Optional Engines]
Engine Configuration	V
Cylinders	8
Aspiration/Induction	Normal
Displacement	259.20 CU IN. \| 4248.3 cc. \| 4.2 L.
Valvetrain	OHV
Horsepower	180.00 HP (132.5 KW) @ 4500.00 RPM
HP to Weight Ratio	18.2 LB / HP (Vehicles with similar ratio)
HP / Liter	42.9 BHP / Liter
Compression Ratio	8.5:1
Main Bearings	5
Fuel Type	Gasoline - Petrol
Fuel Feed	Carburetor
	Stromberg Model WW 2-barrel carburetor
Block	Cast-iron
	Vehicles with similar horsepower and weight

Transmission Information
Gears	3
Transmission	Manual
Final Drive	3.31

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1962 Studebaker GT Hawk