Packard Hawk 1958

[Man of Steel]

The Packard Hawk is a model of automobile. It was the sportiest of the four Packard-badged Studebakers produced in 1958, the final year of Packard production.

History and description
The Packard Plant in Detroit, Michigan had been leased to Curtiss-Wright (and would be soon sold to them), and Packard models in this dying-gasp year were all rebadged and retrimmed Studebaker products. The 1958 Packard Hawk was essentially a Studebaker Golden Hawk 400 with a fiberglass front end and modified deck lid.

Instead of the Studebaker Hawk's upright Mercedes-style grille, the Packard Hawk had a wide, low opening just above the front bumper and covering the whole width of the car. Above this, a smoothly sloping nose, and hood—reminiscent of the 1953 Studebakers, but with a bulge as on the Golden Hawk—accommodated the engine's McCulloch supercharger that gave the Studebaker 289 in³ (4.7 L) V8 a total of 275 bhp (205 kW). At the rear, the sides of the fins were coated in metallized PET film, giving them a shiny metallic gold appearance. A fake spare-tire bulge adorned the 1953-style Studebaker deck lid. PACKARD appeared across the nose, with a gold Packard emblem in script—along with a Hawk badge—on the trunk lid and fins.

The interior was full leather, with full instrumentation in an engine-turned dash. As on early aircraft and custom boats, padded armrests were mounted outside the windows, a rare touch.

The styling was definitely controversial, often described as 'vacuum-cleaner' or 'catfish' by detractors. The styling has come to be appreciated more today than in its debut. Only 588 were sold, with Packard's impending demise a likely contributing factor. Most were equipped with the Borg-Warner three-speed automatic transmission. Approximately 28 were produced with the B-W T85 3-speed w/overdrive manual transmission. Studebaker-Packard was the first manufacturer to popularize the limited slip differential, which they termed Twin-Traction. Most Packard Hawks came with TT. It was certainly the fastest Packard ever sold, since it shared the majority of its components with Studebaker's Golden Hawk. The price was $3995, about $700 higher than the Studebaker model, but with a more luxurious interior. Electric window-lifts and power seats were optional extras.

Its rarity and status as the best-regarded of the 'Packardbaker' final-year cars have made the Packard Hawk quite collectible. Values are roughly double those of the equivalent Studebaker, although they are still low by comparison with Corvettes and Thunderbirds. Because a Studebaker drivetrain was used, mechanical parts are more readily available, although body and trim parts are more difficult-to-impossible to find. While it is a unique car, current restoration costs almost always exceed the selling price.

Source: Wikipedia

[Cobrafan427]

I've always been confused as to whether the Packard Hawk and the Studebaker Hawk were the same car, meaning, did they do what Chevy and GMC does where the same car is a Chevy and a GMC just with different name (ex: Suburban = Yukon) or are the names interchangeable meaning you can call it either a Packard or a Studebaker and still be right?

[csl177]

Not quite like GM, Cobrafan. Studebaker purchased Packard to create Studebaker-Packard in 1954. It really was a last gasp for Packard, and didn't help Studebaker as they had hoped. The Packard Hawk was basically Studebaker's '57 Golden Hawk with a fiberglass nose, and only 588 were built for 1958. It was sadly the end of the line for the last of America's most viable pre-WW2 luxury car makers, the so-called Three P's: Pierce-Arrow, Peerless, and Packard.

Studebaker revised their version of the Hawk series in 1962 with a facelift from Brooks Stevens, calling it Gran Turismo. The Avanti came out then, too. Despite several very good models in their lineup, by 1967 Studebaker was gone too, absorbed into American Motors. None
of these mergers did anything but prolong the inevitable.

[f6fhellcat13]

The Once and Future Coupe: The Loewy Coupes and the Studebaker Hawk
Some more clarification.

[csl177]

Packard Hawk #2

[Cobrafan427]

Not quite like GM, Cobrafan. Studebaker purchased Packard to create Studebaker-Packard in 1954. It really was a last gasp for Packard, and didn't help Studebaker as they had hoped. The Packard Hawk was basically Studebaker's '57 Golden Hawk with a fiberglass nose, and only 588 were built for 1958. It was sadly the end of the line for the last of America's most viable pre-WW2 luxury car makers, the so-called Three P's: Pierce-Arrow, Peerless, and Packard.

Studebaker revised their version of the Hawk series in 1962 with a facelift from Brooks Stevens, calling it Gran Turismo. The Avanti came out then, too. Despite several very good models in their lineup, by 1967 Studebaker was gone too, absorbed into American Motors. None
of these mergers did anything but prolong the inevitable.

Ah thanks csl, i knew Packard died out in the '50's (grandpa owns a '53 Clipper and it's his favorite automaker ever, he gave me the whole story but never revealed how they phased out). That's really interesting about the fiberglass nose and i've never heard of the Gran Turismo before. I always thought the Avanti was the last ditch effort to save Studebaker

[Man of Steel]

Packard Hawk #3

[Man of Steel]

Packard Hawk #4