West Coast Classics are proud to present an extraordinarily well presented and great daily driving example of this very striking 1962 Studebaker Gran Turismo Hawk 289 V8 coupe with a 4 spd manual transmission and air conditioning and which recently underwent a complete restoration with a two-stage repaint in the 1 year only color of 'Metallic Brown Poly' factory color paint with the interior restored to factory correct specs in 'Black' with a new headliner with chrome roof bows and with all the glass replaced and all the chrome re-plated. The floor boards, trunk and all the typical rust-prone areas are solid and rust-free.
The car looks extremely impressive with a very striking one year only color of 'Metallic Brown Poly' repaint from it's original 'Ermine White' factory color with the Black interior also having been restored as required in to original factory specifications throughout with its original 'Studebaker' AM radio! The dashboard, the headliner with chrome bows, the carpets and all the seats have been restored and are in exceptional condition throughout and the car has all new chrome!
The car has it's original matching #'s (P86134) 289 V8 engine which is extremely strong and powerful and this particular car drives very well - must be driven to be fully appreciated - a truly remarkable daily driver that will give any modern day sports car a run for it's money! The car was ordered with deep carpeting, luxury padded safety dash, recessed instrumentation, padded sun visors, a 4 speed floor shifter manual transmission, power brakes, tachometer, undercoating, white sidewalls, climatizer, electric windows & clock.
Reportedly the vehicle spent most of it's life in southern California and it underwent a complete restoration by it's new owners in 2015. In addition to the cosmetic restoration, many mechanical and electrical components were replaced at the time of the restoration as documented by a thick file of receipts totaling over $25K not including labor. The restoration included a specially designed air conditioning system being installed utilizing new AC technology and an auxiliary electric fuel pump with the switch for it located under the dash next to the ignition key switch. The car will also be sold with a copy of it's build sheet from the 'Studebaker National Museum', original owners manuals, shop manuals & paint chip brochures etc.
After the Ford Thunderbird had been restyled in the late fifties, the Studebaker Golden Hawk emerged as one of the most handsome two door coupes on the market in 1956 with performance to match its styling. In 1962, the last year in which Packard would be part of the Studebaker-Packard Corporation, the company's president Sherwood Egbert enlisted the renown designer, Brooks Stevens, to modernize and redesign the Hawk and Lark. Stevens created the the new Hawk model with flowing lines and squarer shapes and it was newly named the 'Gran Turismo' Hawk and proved to be even better than before with this last generation of the Hawk (1962-64) to be the only one to earn the coveted 'Milestone Car Status' recognition of the 'Milestone Car Society' of post war cars (1945-72) who judged their cars in five categories; styling, engineering, roadability, performance and innovation and craftsmanship. A Milestone car had to be superior to its contemporaries in at least two of these categories.
The GT Hawk Coupe was an update of the pillar-less Hawk body-style of the mid to late 1950's with a bolder grille and a more formal roof-line. Still built on the old 'Loewry Coupe' bodyshell and 120.5" wheelbase from 1953 minus the 1957-61 now outdated tail-fins, Stevens added a Thunderbird style formal roof with broad C-pillars, removed needless trim from the bodysides and outlined them in bright metal, installed a new three element dash design with enough room for a clock and large tachometer. Powered by a 289/225HP V8 engine, it had a top speed of 120mph and although the updated continuation of Studebaker's sporty four-seater coupe received good press, it unfortunately couldn't save the 'Studebaker Corporation', which had been founded as a wagon producer back in 1852 and sadly folded in 1966. There were only 3,663 models built in 1962.
In summary, this particular example is a beautifully restored example in a very striking one year only factory color with both cosmetics and mechanics attended to in great daily driving and turn-key ready to enjoy today condition and a simply fabulous example of this increasingly desirable and collectible 1962 Studebaker Gran Turismo Hawk 289 V8 coupe with it's original matching #'s 289 V8 engine matched to a very desirable 4 speed manual transmission and working A/C!
