1964 Studebaker Gran Turismo Hawk

Hardtop
Chassis number: 64V1085

The standard engine on the Gran Turismo Hawk was a six-cylinder powerplant offering 112 horsepower. The standard eight-cylinder engine was a 259.2 cubic-inch offering 180 horsepower. A 210 horsepower V8 engine was also available, as well as a Paxton supercharged R2, which produced about 300 horsepower. It had a four-barrel carburetor, a slightly wider cam with solid lifters, and a Paxton SN60 supercharger.

This Hawk was built on the first day of 1964 production, on September 4th, 1963. It was on display at the New York Auto Show and was painted in the same color combination it wears today. In total, there were about 46 Gran Turismo Hawks built in 1964 equipped with the supercharged R2 engine and high-performance package. It is believed that only about five remain in existence.

This car has won several awards, including the National Studebaker Award and AACA First Junior, Senior, and National awards. In 2006, it competed for and won an AACA Grand National Award.

In 2009, this car was offered for sale at the Vintage Motor Cars of Hershey presented by RM Auctions, where it was estimated to sell for $40,000 - $50,000. The lot was sold for $24,750, including the buyer's premium.

by Dan Vaughan

Hardtop

1964 was the final year of the Gran Turismo Hawk. Brooks Stevens had been tasked to modernize the highly acclaimed Raymond Loewy studio-designed Starliner hardtop coupe and the Starlight post coupe of 1953, which were the platforms for the first Hawks introduced as 1955 models.

Stevens re-styled the earlier Hawk line as the fin-less 1962 Gran Turismo, America's first 'GT' car that became defined by bucket seats, four-speed transmission and full complement of gauges with performance in mind. Stevens then updated each subsequent model year through the end of production in December 1963, the last of the Hawks. Studebaker built its own engines ranging from the R1 to R4.

The single 4-barrel, 289 cubic-inch R1 (240 HP) and R2 (290 HP) were the same, except the R2 was Paxton supercharged. The R3 and R4 were 1-year only engines, with the more powerful, single 4-bbl, supercharged Avant R3 of 304.5 cubic-inch producing 335 horsepower that gave a 'Super Hawk' the potential of over 150 mph.

The R4 was the 304.5 engine with dual 4-bbl carburetors. Studebaker closed its foundry and moved body production to Canada, ending over 100 years of vehicle production in South Bend, Indiana. Total Grand Turismo Hawk construction in 1964 was 1,767 at an average price of $2,966 in 1964 in all forms. This Grand Turismo Hawk was built in August 1963 and was fitted with an early AM/FM radio, unusual for the time.

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 that could be mated 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 car's 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 was 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 Steven's 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.

by Dan Vaughan