Early muscle car – ’56 Studebaker Golden Hawk
We missed getting this one up in time but it didn’t sell. We would watch for it to be relisted like many eBay auctions.
The styling of the Golden Hawk was executed by the studio of Raymond Loewy. They took the basic shape of the Commander and added a vertical eggcrate grille, a squared off trunk and fiberglass tailfins. OMG! We have to tell you, when we saw this car, submitted by Frank K., we were impressed by the unique styling of this early muscle car. We said muscle car because the Packard engine that powered it produced 275 hp making it one of the fastest cars of the period. They didn’t handle worth a damn because the engine was so darn heavy but nobody seemed to care much about turning left or right back in the day. In a comparison test between the Chrysler 300B, Corvette and Thunderbird, the Golden Hawk vanquished all challengers. This one was restored to a nice driver quality and the project began on a relatively low mileage car. So it has many parts that are original to the car. like the dashboard gauges (beautiful), wheel covers, brightwork and drivetrain. The AM radio works and so does the clock, so points on the Mintworthy scale racked up accordingly. The styling looks great in black and the two-tone interior does not disappoint. The engine compartment still sports some original stickers and that says all of the owners that have come before respect this car and its provenance. Hagerty has these valued from $28,000 for ho-hum drivers to over $48,000 for show cars. This one will be on the high side for sure. Click here for the auction for this collectible early muscle car.