1957 Studebaker Golden Hawk

The 1957 Studebaker Golden Hawk was a two-door hardtop coupe with a base price of $3,180, and a total of 4,356 examples were built that year. Power was from a Sweepstakes overhead valve, 289 cubic-inch V8 engine with a belt-driven supercharger.

The Raymond Loewy-designed Golden Hawk had unmistakable European and Italian influence apparent in the Mercedes-like front end and the 1950s rear fins. They were built as a luxury performance sports coupe and for 1957 were the most expensive model in the lineup. All Studebaker sedan and wagon bodies were restyled the previous year, in 1956, with design cues that brought them closer inline with other American vehicles of the era. The updates to the coupe focused on the front and rear section, with fiberglass fins, a Mercedes-Benz-like grille, and a slight bustle trunklid.

Studebaker had emerged from the Second World War with strong financial prospects. However, as the 1950s continued, the company that was born in South Bend, Indiana, began to see its profits fall off. Nevertheless, the company introduced the low-slung and very attractive Loewy coupes in 1953, available in Starliner and Starlight variants. Raymond Loewy oversaw development while Robert Bourke executed the actual design. In 1955, a Speedster version was introduced in the top-of-the-line President Series, and was continued in essence the following year in the Hawk series.

The fiberglass fins of 1956 were replaced in 1957 with curvaceous steel fins, and the front had a raised hood and a large egg-crate grille. The 352 cubic-inch Packard V8 engine of 1956 was no longer available in 1956, leaving a lineup of engines by Studebaker. Since the displacement limit of the V-8 had reached its limit, a McCulloch supercharger was added, resulting in nearly one brake horsepower per cubic inch displacement. The 289 CID OHV V8 produced 275 horsepower with the help of the supercharger and was backed by a three-speed manual transmission with overdrive. The Golden Hawk rested on a 120.5-inch wheelbase platform that was suspended by an independent setup in the front with coil springs, while the rear received a live axle with semi-elliptic leaf springs. Stopping power was courtesy of four-wheel hydraulic drum brakes.

The Golden Hawks were able to sprint from zero-to-sixty mph in just 7.8 seconds, with a top speed of 125 mph.

The Golden Hawk was among Studebaker's most expensive models, sharing that distinction with the President and the Silver Hawk. The Presidents were offered in a variety of body styles, while the Silver and Golden Hawks were solely two-door coupes. Studebaker produced approximately 9,600 examples of the Silver Hawk Coupe with a base price of around $2,300. The exclusive Golden Hawk was a personal luxury high-performance GT car from America, serving as an alternative to Chrysler's 300B. Like other luxury sports coupes of the era, the poor sales were attributed to the Eisenhower Recession of 1958. This represented the end of an era for Studebaker, as the company would exit the automotive business a few short years later in 1966.

by Daniel Vaughan | Oct 2017