1963 Studebaker GT Hawk Comes out of Long-Term Storage With Bad News Under the Hood

The union did little to help save the company. By 1956, the Studebaker-Packard Corporation was nearly bankrupt. In an effort to stay afloat, Studebaker joined the grand tourer market with the Hawk series in 1956.

No fewer than four different models emerged that year, starting with the base Flight Hawk. The lineup also included a mid-priced Power Hawk with an optional V8, a fancier Sky Hawk version, and the range-topping Golden Hawk, which combined luxury features with a 275-horsepower V8.

The latter was the only version that remained in production for 1957, joined by the Silver Hawk. The Golden Hawk was discontinued in 1958, while the Silver Hawk went into the history books one year later. 1960 brought just one Hawk model into showrooms, replaced by the Gran Turismo Hawk in 1962.

Studebaker's final effort in this niche, the GT Hawk combined both European and American styling cues. While the radiator grille was inspired by Mercedes-Benz vehicles (which were distributed by Studebaker in the US at the time), the roofline was similar to American personal luxury cars like the Ford Thunderbird. The Hawk remained a V8-exclusive affair, hitting showrooms with 210 to 335 horsepower, depending on model year and drivetrain configuration.

But despite being a stylish and powerful rig, the GT Hawk failed to steal customers from Ford or GM. The grand tourer moved only 13,881 units on US soil until it was discontinued at the end of the 1964 model year. For reference, Ford sold 233,789 Thunderbirds over the same period.

Come 2023, the GT Hawk is a Studebaker we rarely think about. And it's a classic we rarely see at classic car shows. It doesn't get as much love as the Golden Hawk or Avanti, and many examples are rotting away in barns and junkyards. The 1963 version you see here is one of those GT Hawks that were parked and forgotten for too many years.

Specifically, this Studebaker got its last inspection in 1978, meaning it hasn't been on the road for 46 years as of 2024. But even though it sat for nearly five decades, the GT Hawk is still in one piece. Sure, the paint has seen better days, and there's rust on the lower body panels, but it's still surprisingly clean. And that's probably because it spent a lot of time indoors.

But there's bad news to share as well. Unfortunately, this Studebaker no longer has its original V8 engine. The mill was reportedly removed and sold in 2023. And that's a shame because this GT Hawk is not a run-of-the-mill model. The grand tourer left the factory with the supercharged version of the company's 289-cubic-inch (4.7-liter) V8.

Known as the R2, it delivered 289 horsepower and 370 pound-feet (502 Nm) of torque when new. Yup, it's the same engine that enabled the Avanti to reach over 170 mph (274 kph) and set 29 world speed records at the Bonneville Salt Flats in 1962.

Why would anyone do such a thing to a classic that's still pretty solid? Well, it's quite common for vehicles like these to be parted out. While it may be one of only 4,009 GT Hawks sold in 1963 (and one of fewer than 1,000 with a supercharged V8), this grand tourer isn't desirable, so the previous owner had no issues turning it into a parts car. It's a sad fate, but that's how the cookie crumbles.

And while I'd love to say this Studebaker will be restored with a replacement mill, it will probably be dismantled, and some of its components will live on in other vehicles. Unless a miracle happens, that is!