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1959 Studebaker Silver Hawk

Studebaker models received updated styling in 1956, with the sultry Raymond Loewy-designed coupes remaining in production, modernized with Mercedes-like grilles and curvaceous tail fins, and designated as Studebaker Hawks. Body styles included both hardtop and pillared coupes equipped with several different engines. The Golden Hawk was the top offering for several years, but for 1959, those honors were bestowed upon the Silver Hawk.

The Silver Hawk was part of the Studebaker lineup from 1957 through 1959, initially replacing both the Power Hawk and Flight Hawk. The standard engine was the 185 cubic-inch Champion six, with the 259 Commander V-8 standard for export models. Unlike the Golden Hawk, the Silver Hawk had a simpler two-tone paint scheme, devoid of a supercharger or hood bulge, and more restrained use of chrome trim.

The 1959 Studebaker Silver Hawk was the only 'Hawk' model in production, accompanied by the compact Lark model. The Silver Hawk and Lark both came standard with the 169.6 CID six with 8.3:1 compression, a Carter one-barrel carburetor, and four main bearings, and delivered 90 horsepower at 4,000 RPM. The overhead-valve V8 had a 259.2 cubic-inch displacement, solid valve lifters, five main bearings, a two-barrel Stromberg carburetor, and delivered 180 horsepower at 4,500 RPM. A three-speed manual transmission with a column-mounted gearshift was standard, and overdrive was an extra $110. The Flightomatic added an additional $200 to the base price. Additional optional equipment included lower compression ratios, Twin-Traction, and an optional power kit that added a four-barrel carburetor and dual exhaust on the V8 engines.

Studebaker added new tailfins to the Silver Hawk and moved its nameplate script to the fins instead of on the trunk lid, where new individual block letters spelling out STUDEBAKER. A new Hawk badge was placed between the two words. Chrome molding was around the windows, the parking lights moved from the front fenders to the side grilles, two-tone paint was discontinued for all U.S. orders, and the interior luxury improved. The two-tone paint was available for export and for fleet cars.

The Lark model was popular, helping Studebaker achieve its first profitable year in six years. Sales of the Silver Hawk were respectable with 2,417 being equipped with six-cylinder engines and 5,371 with V8s.

The following year, the 'Silver Hawk' was renamed to 'Hawk' and continued to be accompanied by the Lark. Production of the Hawk was delayed due to a steel strike in the U.S. With steel in short supply, Studebaker focused on building as many Lark models as possible, delaying Hawk production (which had been scheduled to begin in November or December of 1959).

Production of the Hawk continued until 1962 when it was replaced by the Brooks Stevens-designed Gran Turismo Hawk.

by Dan Vaughan

Coupe

The Silver Hawk evolved from the 1953 Starlite Coupe design, and the Golden Hawk series evolved from the Starliner hardtop, beginning with the 1956 Golden Hawk which had modest fiberglass fins added to the Starliner body. In 1957 and later, the larger fins were made of steel. Optional in the Silver Hawk was a 259 cubic-inch, 180 horsepower V8 while the Golden Hawk was offered with a 352 CID Packard motor in 1956 and a 289 CID Studebaker motor with a Paxton supercharger in 1957. The Golden Hawk was discontinued after building 8,000+ cars in 1956 and 1957 and 878 in 1958, while the Silver Hawk continued through 1961, being replaced by the fin-less Hawk Grand Turismo in 1962.

This example is currently on display at the National Automotive and Truck Museum of the United States located in Auburn, Indiana

Debuting in 1957, the Studebaker Silver Hawk was produced by the Studebaker Corporation of South Bend, Indiana. Its production lasted until 1959. Four versions of the Hawk were introduced, the Power Hawk, the pillared Flight Hawk, the hardtop Sky Hawk and the Golden Hawk. 1956 was actually the first year for the Hawk's, but the silver Hawk wasn't produced in this first year. Since 1959 onwards, no other Hawk models were sold, and the same basic vehicle was produced for 1960 and 1961, simply the Studebaker Hawk.

The Silver Hawk was a good-looking, peppy car with a very lively performance that was also much more reasonably priced than previous models. Unfortunately the downsides of the Silver Hawk were its lack of a hardtop, and the usual rust and oil leak problems commonly found in Studebakers. The simplified successor to the Golden Hawk, the Silver Hawk came with an optional four-speed gearbox in 1961. The Silver Hawk had a wheelbase of 120.5 inches had an overall length of 204.0 inches and weighed between 2,795lbs and 3,207lbs. When priced new it was ranged from $2,360 to $2,650.

The Silver Hawk, much like it predecessors, the Flight Hawk and the Power Hawk, was a two-door pillared coupe in the US market that came in two differently-engined models with either the Champion six or the 289 cu in President V8 engine. The Silver Hawk wasn't as flashy as the Golden Hawk and featured less chrome, no hood bulge or supercharger and came with a simpler two-tone paint scheme, one color below the chrome belt line and one more above. Lower color was included on the fin, and some dealers painted the fin only. The Golden Hawk was dropped following a disappointing recession-year performance in 1958, the Silver Hawk which had a more promising sell-history continued on in the lineup.

For the following year, the Silver Hawk was the only Hawk model in production, mainly due to Studebaker dealers wishing for a more glamorous flagship model. The Silver Hawk was the only non-Lark model left. For 1959 the Silver Hawk featured new tailfins with the 'Silver Hawk' script placed on the fins rather than on the trunk lid and a new Hawk badge placed in between the two words. The lid featured the words ‘STUDEBAKER' spelled out on individual block letters. Chrome moldings were placed around the windows, similar to the Golden Hawk and the parking lights were moved to the side grilles from the front fenders and the interior was modeled closely in between the two former models' luxury levels. All US orders discontinued two-tone paint, though export models still offered it.

1959 was the best year in six for Studebaker, mostly due to the Lark and the lift in sales aided the Silver Hawk and a total of 7,788 models were sold. For 1960 the U.S. Silver Hawk came with the option of the newly-reduced in size 90 HP 169.6 cu. in. (2.8L) six or the 259 cu. in. (4.2L) V8 of either 180 or 195 HP depending on the choice of carburetor. For this year the 289 was no longer offered.

The ‘Silver' part of the name was dropped in 1960, leaving the ‘Hawk' as the only name. Not much was changed from the previous year except the return of the 289 cubic inch (4.7 L) V8 engine from 1958. For both 1960 and 1961 this would be the only engine available for the U.S. and this would also be the final year of the finned Hawk. For export markets some 6-cylinder and 259 in³ (4.2 L) V8 models were produced.

For 1961 the Hawk was available in a very limited offering of a second paint color, beige, in a stripe along the base of the fin between the two lower moldings. On the inside, the option of wide, comfy bucket seats and the option of joining the 289 V8 to a new four-speed Borg-Warner manual transmission. This was the same model used in the Chevy Corvette.

Unfortunately the Hawk was replaced by the Studebaker Gran Turismo Hawk in 1962.

by Jessican Donaldson