The Golden Hawk is a 2-door personal luxury hardtop coupe built by Studebaker Corp. between 1956-58. It was one of several iterations of the Hawk series that were around from 1953 and the end of Studebaker production in South Bend, Indiana during the 1964 model year. The 1957 Golden Hawks were noted for their supercharged 289 cubic inch V8 engines, rated at 275 hp. This one has 4-speed, modern air conditioning, and low mileage. Available here on eBay as part of an estate sale, this Hawk is in Salem, Oregon and the bidding has reached $19,499. The reserve has not yet been met.

Famed designer Raymond Loewy created the Golden Hawk by taking the basic shape of the 1953–55 Starliner hardtop coupe and adding a large, almost vertical egg-crate grille and raised hood line in place of a swooping, pointed nose. On the other end, a raised, squared-off trunk lid replaced an earlier sloped lid. Vertical fiberglass tailfins were also added. In the car’s first year (1956), the Golden Hawk used a Packard engine that displaced 352 cubic inches. But the Packard plant was sold off due to financial problems, so the 1957-58 models used the Studebaker 289 with a McCulloch supercharger. It produced the same horsepower as the 352 but in a lighter package, so the cars would be capable of a top speed of 125 mph.

This Golden Hawk has spent its 64 years on the West Coast and was purchased by a collector in Reno, Nevada around the turn of the century. It’s been shown at many auto events and has won several awards including Division Best in Show at Hot August Nights in Reno five years ago. The owner has since passed away and the family is selling the car through a dealer, who will pass along documentation that has been kept on the classic. It’s in excellent mechanical condition and the supercharged V8 has been rebuilt.

Some of the upgrades or improvements on the car include:

• Borg-Warner T-10 4-speed manual transmission with factory Hurst shifter (from a ’62 GT Hawk)
• All leather interior and front bucket seats (also from the GT)
• Avanti front and rear sway bars for better handling
• Auburn Posi-Traction rear-end with 3.31:1 gear ratio and Mosier flanged axles
• Front disc brakes (original drum brakes are included with the sale)
• Frenched hood louvers for added engine ventilation

As the photos show, the car presents well and everything has held up, although you’re likely to find a few small chips in the front from use. Total Studebaker production for 1957 with 63,101 cars and the Golden Hawk was 4.356 of them. The seller is serious about portraying this car appropriately, so a video tour is provided to show the Golden Hawk in real-time.