Studebaker Gran Turismo Hawk

The Studebaker Gran Turismo Hawk, also called the GT Hawk, was a grand touring coupe sold by Studebaker between 1962 and 1964, the top of the Studebaker line and the final development of the Hawk series that began with the Golden Hawk in 1956. Designer Brooks Stevens gave the older Hawk shape a radical and inexpensive facelift, with a European-inspired radiator frame that echoed Mercedes-Benz cars, which Studebaker then distributed, a roofline influenced by the Ford Thunderbird and Lincoln Continental details that removed the tailfins of earlier models. Underneath it stayed very close to the 1953 Starliner chassis, and buyers could choose the 289 cubic inch V8 or, from 1963, the supercharged R-series engines developed for the Avanti, with a Super Hawk package adding disc brakes and anti-roll bars. Two 1964 cars ran at the Bonneville Salt Flats, one reaching 157.29 mph over the flying kilometer. The GT Hawk was dropped when Studebaker closed its South Bend plant in December 1963.