The Packard Hawk was one of a range of four models of automobile produced in the final year of Packard production. Packard's plant in Utica, Michigan had been leased to Curtiss-Wright (and would be soon sold to them) and Packard models in this dying-gasp year were rebadged and retrimmed Studebaker products. The Packard Hawk was essentially Studebaker's Golden Hawk slightly reshaped and repackaged.
Instead of the Studebaker's large, almost upright grille, the Packard Hawk had a wide, low 'fishmouth' opening just above the front bumper and covering the whole width of the car. Above this, a smoothly sloping nose reminiscent of the 1953 Studebakers, but with a bulge, as on the Golden Hawk, to take the engine's McCulloch supercharger that gave the Studebaker 289 in³ (4.7 L) V8 a total of 275 bhp (205 kW). At the rear, the sides of the fins were coated in MylarŪ, giving them a shiny metallic gold appearance. A fake spare-tire bulge adorned the trunk lid. Lettering was PACKARD spelt out in capitals across the nose, with a script 'Packard' on the trunk lid and fins in gold. A Hawk badge adorned both trunk lid and fins.
The interior was fully leather, with a fully-instrumented dash. A rare touch saw padded armrests mounted outside the windows, as on early aircraft.
The styling could definitely be considered controversial, being described as 'vacuum-cleaner' by some reviewers. Only 558 sold, but Packard's dying situation was as likely to have been responsible. It was certainly the fastest Packard ever sold, given that it shared the majority of its components with Studebaker's fast Golden Hawk. The price was $3995, about $700 higher than the Studebaker model, although the interior was more luxurious.
The rarity, and its status as the best-regarded of the 'Packardbaker' final year cars, have made the Packard Hawk quite collectible. Values by and large are almost double those for the equivalent Studebaker, although they are low by comparison with better-known makes. Thanks to the use of a Studebaker drivetrain, mechanical parts availability is not that much of a problem, though body repairs and trim are harder.
