Image source: Oldcaradvertising.com
Some things we just know. But sometimes, the things that everyone knows are not necessarily true.
For example, everybody knows that the first Studebaker Gran Turismo Hawk was the 1962 version which was the result of Brooks Stevens’ fabulous efforts to restyle an old car on a lean budget. You can read about this great car here and here.
But then I came across this ad. Look carefully and note the fins and roof pillars. This is no G.T. Hawk. Yet that is what Studebaker was calling this car, and in 1961. Did the ’62 model get its name from the imagination of some anonymous ad copy writer as he tried to inject a little life and magic into the tired old ’61 Hawk? Perhaps so.
Thr G.T. Hawk was underappreciated and overlooked for years, Though I was all of 10 when it came to market. I thought it was a fine automobile, Tjough I was raised with Pontiacs. Probaly why I loved the split grille s on the original 53 Starliner. Never cared for the faux Mercedes-esque grille, though. If they had reprised the original nose from ’53 with the Thunderbird inspired roofline, It may have been a better seller
I saw a stunning white one in Bristol a few years ago,they are one of the most attractive American cars ever built.There was a golden age of glamorous American car design from 1955 to 1970 and this is one of the many stars
I was wondering if this was an ad in a 1961 magazine for a 1962 model, and perhaps the 1962 wasn’t ready to photograph so they used the older one, hoping nobody would notice. However, here’s another similar ad that specifically says 1961.
http://clubs.hemmings.com/gatewaysdc/Studebaker-ads-1961/1961-Hawk-January1961-R.gif
James Mason had a Studebaker Hawk? I think I want one now. If they’re good enough for the guy who played Captain Nemo in 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea, they’re good enough for me. That’s what I call a celebrity endorsement.
Mr. Brooks Stevens was a very talented designer. The work he did for Studebaker and Jeep over the years was, in my opinion, nothing short of remarkable.
This seems particularly true when you consider the lack of any real design budget with Studebaker. His effort and great results far exceeded his paycheck.
As a lover of all things Studebaker, I feel that what JPC stated in this write up is correct. Studebaker was hoping to interject a little life and interest into a model that was way past replacement. Studebaker, I feel, was hoping the addition of bucket seats, a four-speed transmission, and the use, in advertisement only, of the name “Gran Turismo” would make the car exciting and increase sales.
Of course, we now know things didn’t turn out anywhere near as planned and for 1962, thanks to the vision of Sherwood Egbert and the efforts of Brooks Stevens, the brilliant update that brought about the new, badged as such Gran Turismo Hawk did little to turn Studebaker’s fortune around.
Oh the whys of some of Studebaker’s decisions. Why discontinue the hardtop Hawks for the ungainly pillared models that were offered through ’61? For ’62, why not take the Gran Turismo Hawk even more up market? Compare a GT Hawk to say, a competing Ford Thunderbird or Pontiac Grand Prix and one will see that several things buyers in this class expected to be available were missing. Power windows? Not available. Power seats? Not available. In dash air conditioning? No, but there was an ungainly under-dash box available. Combine all this with a rather plain interior and I can see how buyers would choose something else from the competition. And, let’s not even get started with the new features such as cruise control and tilt steering wheels that were gaining popularity or either all new on the competition beginning about 1963.
I know Studebaker discontinued a lot of options after 1958 citing few sales. However, with the GT Hawk, I really feel they made a major mistake by not making the car more competitive. After all, front power windows and in-dash air conditioning was available on the Avanti.
However, I love the GT Hawks. Along with the Avanti, they are gorgeous cars.
Mr. Bill
Hamlet, NC
So Lucius Beebe runs around in a private railway car, a Rolls-Royce, a Bentley, a Jaguar and a Gran Turismo Hawk?
Not bad for a guy who had the dubious distinction of getting kicked out of both Harvard AND Yale!
I don’t know about Lucius Beebe’s Rolls-Royce, his Bentley, his Jaguar or his Studebaker Gran Turismo Hawk.
But his private railcar lives on, 47 years after his death. Completely refurbished in the original “grand manner,” and modernized with 21st Century mechanicals, it still plies the rails for its current owner, now behind Amtrak trains.
If his Gran Turismo Hawk does survive, the owner would know it by the special instrument panel plaque with Beebe’s name and the car number.
So, in other words, was there a specific option package that was given the “Gran Turismo” name in 1961? Or did all ’61 Hawks come with the owner’s name engraved on a numbered plaque?
Either way, the photography in both ads is very clever. The Hawk was carefully positioned so you don’t see any of the parts that scream “1953 vintage Studebaker design.” Instead, you only see the freshened front end, which was very European in style and holds its own quite well against the Jag and Bentley.
As far as I know and as per discussion on The Studebaker Drivers Club Forum, there was not a specific “Gran Turismo” option package available for the 1961 Hawk. If anything, Studebaker referred to this nomenclature along with the availability of a 4 speed transmission only in these advertisements.
And yes, it was extremely clever the way this Hawk was positioned with Mr. Beebe at its side. Only when you look carefully through the windshield to the right side of the interior is it noticeable that this is the same old body style of years past.
Interesting character, that Mr. Beebe…
According to Studebaker, famed actor James Mason owned a 1961 Hawk. Mr. Mason and his car were the subject of another ad in this same series. I am enclosing a copy of the advertisement. Again, the Hawk and its owner are strategically photographed. Also, notice the advertisement’s heading.
Mr. Bill
Hamlet, NC
From what I had read, Studebaker announced that the 61 Hawk would be a limited edition car with no more than 6000 made, and each would have a dash plaque with the owner’s name engraved on it. A way to try and add some cachet to the Hawk name in advance of the new 62 model, I suppose. That 6000 figure turned out to be wildly optimistic. (I wonder if there is anyone we can talk to about getting the other 2500+ of the authorized 61 Hawks made and released? Sure bet they could sell them now. :). )
Well, that’s one way to try to turn lemons into lemonade.
Stude Exec #1: “The Hawk’s sales are in the toilet and we have no money to change anything. What can we do?”
Stude Exec #2: “I know! Let’s call it a limited edition. Send Johansen downtown to the laminating and trophy store and have him buy a couple thousand dash plaques!”
Stude Exec #1: “That’s just crazy enough to work!”
I recall waiting for the bus in 6th grade (’68/’69) and watching a neighbor couple each pilot out their ’63 – ’64 pair of GT Hawks. One was white, the other was black. Goodness they were gorgeous and made a lasting mark on my infantile brain.
SUPER QUESTION FOR HAWK AFFICIANADOS – one of the cars had a ‘brass’ grille and ‘brass’ accents, instead of the typical chrome; I believe it was the black one. Was this a custom treatment? Would the owner have been the local dealer? I’ve never seen one since with that treatment.
I have never heard of brass in place of chrome/stainless on a GT Hawk. My guess would be a custom anodizing job. That would look stunning on a black car. Anyone else?
This is definitely a ’61 and the Jag in the background has ’61 Mass license plates as Bebe, from an old-moneyed family and himself a successful author, etc., had homes in Boston and San Francisco (which is where he died). I believe (surmise) the “Gran Turismo” tag in this ad is to denote it’s intentions (4 speed stick and so on) vice the model moniker given to the car that appeared for MY 1962.
I also noticed that the ad for the ’61 calls it a Gran Turismo Studebaker Hawk, while the ’62-64 version was the Studebaker Gran Turismo Hawk. I think that someone at the ad agency or in management came up with the Gran Turismo line to apply as a descriptor to the “limited edition” 61 model, and it sounded so good that they officially used the name for the re-designed car in 62. This Does this make the 60 Hawk the only one that never had a modifying second name (if even an unofficial one)?
Rossi Motors (as it was known when I was a small kid growing up in San Rafael) was the Studebaker dealer in town. They also sold Mercedes and their legacy lives on with R.A.B. Motors. Anyway, my Mother had some rather ‘well bred’ friends and in various locales riding along with her to visit (Tiburon, Belvedere, Sunset District in S.F.), one would see ’62-’63 Gran Turismo Hawks in the company of Cadillacs, Lincoln-Continentals, Jag Marks, and some of then Heckflosse Benzes. Even if these cars DID scream “1953” with pedals coming up through the floors, at least the ’62-’64’s did have a catchet that appealed to some discerning people of the day.
Now that I recall, I only saw women driving these cars. Most were usually traded in on flight-deck ’64-’66 T-Birds. I would’ve been between the ages of 4-8 then (1963-67).
Your comparison of a GT Hawk with the contemporary TBirds got me wondering, and I compared some specs of the GT Hawk with the 61-63 Bullet-Bird.
TBird — Hawk
205 — 204 Length
75.9 — 71 Width
52.5 — 54.7 Height
113 — 120.5 Wheelbase
61/60 — 57/56 Frt/Rr track
4277 — 3285 Weight
I would have bet money that the TBird (either in width or in track) was more than 5 inches wider than the Hawk. Also, it is odd that while both cars are nearly identical in length, the Hawk has a 7.5 inch longer wheelbase. From a pure side view, that long wheelbase really helps the Hawk over the Bird, but the Bird has it beat in just about any other view. That 5 inch width difference may not look like much, but it really shows up when looking at the cars. Also, the unit body TBird has about 1,000 pounds on the Stude. The Bird also cost about $1000 more (about a 25% premium for the TBird, which was not an insignificant sum.)
To add to my above story, during that same timeframe and well into the 1970s (when going to the East Bay on the way to Oakland Coliseum), insofar as the ’57-’61 ‘glued on fin’ Hawks, there was, I believe a Richmond candlemaker called D’Arcy or something like that who had a building where Cutting Blvd (then Calif. Hwy 17) made a sharp turn towards the Emeryville mudflats (before the 580 freeway was built in the late 1980s).
This guy had a whole yard full of finned Hawks. I think he had about a dozen in various two tone colors. I believe only one or two actually ran . . . .