1956
Studebaker Golden Hawk
1956
8
5.7 L
Strong
The car
The first year of the Golden Hawk, and the quickest thing the company had made. The shape comes from the 1953 Loewy coupé, with fins and a new grille added. The engine made it faster in a straight line than almost anything else on a European road in 1956, and it would do 130 mph.
That engine also made the car nose heavy. It is part of the character rather than a fault to apologise for, and anyone who has driven one will tell you the same.
Did you know
The V8 is not a Studebaker engine. Studebaker and Packard had merged two years earlier, and the Golden Hawk was given Packard’s V8, the largest engine either company had. It is also the reason for the weight over the front wheels.
Racing Pedigree
This car has run in the 1000 Miglia, 1000 Miglia Warm Up, California Mille and Lugano Elegance.
1000 Miglia
2019 and 2021
1000 Miglia WarmUp Switzerland
2022, 2024 and 2026
California Mille
2016
Lugano Elegance
2026
Over four days
Effortless when the road is open, and demanding where it is not. The engine does the work, so a long day takes very little out of you.
Full specification
Engine & Transmission
| Make | Packard |
| Configuration | 8 cylinders, V, overhead valve |
| Capacity | 5,768 cc, 5.7 L |
| Power | 275 bhp at 4,600 rpm |
| Torque | 380 lb ft at 2,800 rpm |
| Carburation | Carter WCFB four barrel |
| Compression | 9.5 to 1 |
| Gearbox | Manual with overdrive |
| Clutch | Long single plate |
Chassis & Body
| Body style | Pillarless hardtop coupé |
| Construction | Steel body on separate frame, fibreglass tailfins |
| Suspension | Independent front with coil springs, live rear axle on semi elliptic leaf springs |
| Brakes | Hydraulic drums front and rear |
Performance
| Top speed | 209 km/h |
| 0 to 100 km/h | 9.6 seconds |
| Weight | 1,524 kg |
Documentation
| FIVA identity card | Yes |
| 1000 Miglia Registro | Yes |