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Automotive Lifestyle
101 Cars: Studebaker Golden Hawk
The Best "Sports Car" Studebaker could Muster at the Time
SPEEDtv.com is celebrating the launch of the new program "101 Cars You Must Drive" with a weekly countdown of the vehicles featured in the show. Tune-in to SPEED 9pm ET on Monday nights, and to SPEEDtv.com every day for new "Must Drive" features.
SPEED Staff  |  Posted June 23, 2008   Charlotte, North Carolina
The Studebaker Golden Hawk packed tons of power and luxury into its sportiest coupe body style. (Photo: SPEED)

Like American Motors during the 1960s and 1970s, Studebaker was always a company that had to do more with less. While Chevrolet introduced its two-seater Corvette in 1953, and Ford came to market with the Thunderbird in 1955, Studebaker couldn't afford its own two-seat convertible. So it took an approach similar to what Chrysler did in creating the 300, packing more power and luxury touches into its sportiest coupe body style. The result was the Golden Hawk. The first cars had a 352-cubic-inch Packard V-8, (the two floundering companies were partners by then), while the 1957 and 1968 got Stude's own supercharged V-8. What the Hawk had going for it was it was lower slung and lighter than the big cars produced by Detroit's Big Three, so it was a good performer for its time. The Golden Hawk, and Packard for that matter, disappeared in 1959.

Specifications
Engine: 289-i supercharged OHV V-8
Horsepower: 275
Price New: $3,282 (1958)
Value Now: $25,000-$30,000 for the best; average drivers about half that.
Studebaker Photos



Claim to Fame

Studebaker's "sports car" of the 1950s


Behind the Wheel
A total of 9,305 were built; go shopping at studebakerdriversclub.com


Did You Know?
Packard also made a version of it with a different nose and add-on, fiberglass rear fins.


The Perfect Drive
These are no-fuss cars, so take them anywhere you'd take that old 'Vette or T-Bird... but you can take another couple with you in the Hawk's back seat.



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For its time wasn’t the Studebaker sportier than the early Corvettes and Thunderbirds? Leave comments below!

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