June 2, 2024 Update – The seller deleted their soon-to-expire Craigslist ad and replaced it with a fresh listing. The description, pictures, and beyond optimistic asking price all remain the same.
May 2, 2024 Update – The seller deleted their soon-to-expire Craigslist ad and replaced it with a fresh listing. The description, pictures, and beyond optimistic asking price all remain the same.
March 26, 2024 Update – The seller deleted their soon-to-expire Craigslist ad and replaced it with a fresh listing. The description, pictures, and beyond optimistic asking price all remain the same.
February 11, 2024 Update – The seller deleted their soon-to-expire Craigslist ad and replaced it with a fresh listing. The description, pictures, and beyond optimistic asking price all remain the same.
January 15, 2024 Update – The seller deleted their soon-to-expire Craigslist ad and replaced it with a fresh listing. The description, pictures, and beyond optimistic asking price all remain the same.
December 20, 2023 Update – It’s official: this update marks the two-year anniversary of us tracking the sale of this stunning yet ridiculously priced Studebaker Golden Hawk. After a brief pause following the expiration of their last Craigslist ad, the seller posted fresh listings of both this car and a more driver-quality example. Both cars are equally over-priced.
December 15, 2023 Update – After their latest end-of-season fall listings asking a completely out-of-touch-with-reality $185,000 expired, the seller of Studebaker Golden Hawk we’ve been tracking the sale of for two years did not post a replacement ad. We’re confident the car has not been sold at that price and look forward to next fall when the seller attempts the same lunacy.
October 8, 2023 Update – The seller replaced their expiring Craigslist ad with a fresh listing. The pictures, description, and out-of-touch asking price of $185,000 remain the same. We note that the seller has a second 1957 Studebaker Golden Hawk on a second Craigslist. The seller notes that the car is a rust-free driver equipped with a GM 350 Crate Motor, although the original will be part of the sale. The asking price of that car is an equally out-of-touch $139,000 or best offer.
October 8, 2023 Update – The seller replaced their expiring Craigslist ad with a fresh listing. The pictures, description, and out-of-touch asking price of $185,000 remain the same. We note that the seller has a second 1957 Studebaker Golden Hawk on a second Craigslist. The seller notes that car is a rust-free driver equipped with a GM 350 Crate Motor, although the original will be part of the sale. The asking price of that car is an equally out of touch $139,000 or best offer,
September 10, 2023 Update – Fall must be in the air, as the owner of this stunning 1957 Studebaker Golden Hawk, we’ve been tracking the sale of since November 2021, posted their first listing in nearly a year. Originally listed for $225,000 and subsequently lowered to $195,000 last year, the seller is asking $185,000 this time around. We’re not knocking the quality of their restoration of what appears to be a very well-optioned Golden Hawk. Unfortunately, the seller fails to realize that their car is not worth that much in the marketplace, as our analysis points out. That is especially the case continuing to list the car on Craigslist. If they want to try to earn a record number for their car, the seller should be realistic and try to sell it to the appropriate Mecum venue with a reserve price.
January 6, 2023, Update – While this “Classifind” expired recently, given the seller’s history, we suspect it may not actually be sold yet. For now, we’re labeling this ride “Sold?” However, we will keep an eye out for an updated listing.
November 30, 2022 Update – The seller replaced their expired listing with a fresh Craigslist ad. The pictures, description, and extremely optimistic asking price all remain the same.
October 26, 2022 Update – Nearly one year after their last Craigslist ad expired, the seller of this stunning 1957 Studebaker Golden Hawk just posted a fresh Craigslist ad. While they lowered their asking price from the original request of an eye-watering $225,000 to a still-ridiculous $195,000, that is over one hundred thousand dollars above the highest price paid in the past five years for a similar example. While this nicely optioned Golden Hawk is likely a contender to be the best in the world, the seller needs to come to terms with the reality of a market that does not value this car as much as they do.
December 2, 2021 Update – We just confirmed the listing for this “Classifind” expired, so with no replacement found, we’re assuming this ride “Sold?” even though we highly doubt this with a $225,000 asking price Studebaker actually sold.
“NOTE: One Hundred Eighty-Five Thousand Dollars.” The private seller says that their asking price for their Concours-Quality 1957 Studebaker Golden Hawk for sale, originally listed in November 2021 in Louisville, Kentucky, is not a typo. While the condition and rarity of this car place it among the finest examples available today, the ridiculous asking price is beyond realistic.
Still offered at $185,000 (the original ask one year prior was $225,000), comparing that price against the Hagerty Insurance Online Valuation Tool confirms the private seller has their Golden Hawk priced over $110,000 above this guide’s #1 “Concours” appraisal of $70,500. Similarly, the Collector Car Market Review Online Tool confirms the current ask remains over three times above this guide’s #1 “Excellent” appraisal of only $59,000. Finally, Classic.comconfirms that over the last five years, the highest price paid for a 1957 Studebaker Golden Hawk was only $88,000:
With an asking price beyond double what the value of the car is, we have no choice but to give the private seller our latest “NEW!” (short for “No Effin Way!”) Award for an asking price that is completely out of touch with the market reality.
Studebaker designers created the Golden Hawk as a two-door pillarless hardtop personal luxury car. Launched in the fall of 1956, Golden Hawks remained in production for only three model years. With limited capital available, Studebaker designers and engineers had to think of innovative ways to develop all-new models. For the Golden Hawk, that meant it took the basic shape of the 1953–55 Champion/Commander Starliner coupe but added a large, almost vertical egg-crate grille and raised hood line in place of the earlier car’s swooping, pointed nose, and was introduced as the Studebaker Speedster. At the rear, a raised, squared-off trunk lid replaced the earlier sloped lid, and vertical fiberglasstailfins were added to the rear quarters. The Golden Hawk was two inches shorter than the standard Hawk at 153.6inches.
The raised hood and grille were added to allow space for a larger engine,Packard’s 352 cubic inch V8, which delivered 275 brake horsepower. This comparatively large, powerful engine in such a light car gave the Golden Hawk an excellentpower-to-weight ratio(and thus performance) for the time; of 1956 American production cars, the Golden Hawk was second only toChrysler’s 300Bby that measure — and the Chrysler, which cost considerably more, was essentially a road-legalNASCARracing car. The Golden Hawk, like the Chryslers, is a precursor to themuscle cars of the 1960s.
The heavy Packard engine gave the car a reputation for being nose-heavy. Despite replacing the heavy Packard engine with a belt-driven, supercharged “Sweepstakes” 289 cubic inch V8 making the same 275 horsepower, the new engine package ended up being a bit heavier. Road tests of the time, many of which were conducted by racing drivers, seldom mentioned any handling issues in spite of the heavy front end. Speed Agemagazine of July 1956 tested the Golden Hawk against the Chrysler 300B,Ford Thunderbird, andChevrolet Corvette, finding that the Golden Hawk could out-perform the others comfortably in both 0-60 mph acceleration and quarter-mile times. The fastest 0-60 reported in magazine testing was 7.8 seconds, while top speeds were quoted as 125 mph plus.
A wide variety of colors (including two-tone paint schemes) were available. Two-tone schemes initially involved the front upper body, the roof, and a panel on the tail being painted the contrast color, with the rest of the body in the base color. Later 1956 production had the body above the body trim line, including the trunk, in the contrast color with the tail panel, roof, and the body below the body trim line being in the base color. The interior included an engine-turned dash. Unfortunately, like many more expensive cars, Golden Hawk sales were heavily hit by the late-1950s recession, and the model was discontinued after only selling 878 examples in 1958.
A Studebaker Hawk enthusiast has this interesting 1957 News Reel segment featuring a ’57 Studebaker Golden Hawk that served as a commercial for Cinema goers at the time:
While we do not question the quality of the restoration of this highly optioned 1957 Studebaker Golden Hawk, we would love to know the seller’s rationale for asking such an out-of-touch price for it. The only plausible explanation is that it summed up all the receipts accumulated during this car’s restoration and believes that should be reflected in the price. Unfortunately, as many of us know all too well, it does not work that way.
Here’s the seller’s current description:
“1957 Studebaker Golden Hawk
All redone to original. 289 supercharger, automatic transmission, twin traction,
Beautiful Tiara Gold, all available options: PB, PS, PW, P Seat,
Tinted Glass, Dual mirrors, antenna, seatbelts, rear speaker, windshield washer, wire wheels. All works, never wrecked, looks runs like new — $195,000 (NOTE: One Hundred Ninety-Five Thousand Dollars).
Louisville, KY
Serious Buyers Only Please – – SERIOUS INQUIRIES CALL
ABSOLUTELY NO EMAILS – NO TEXTS !!!!”
ABSOLUTELY NO CALLS FROM SALES ORGANIZATIONS FOR CARS!!!
This is the seller’s description from 2021:
“1957 Studebaker Golden Hawk
All redone to original. 289 supercharger, automatic transmission, twin traction,
Beautiful Tiara Gold, all available options: PB, PS, PW, P Seat,
Tinted Glass, Dual mirrors, antenna, seatbelts, rear speaker, windshield washer, wire wheels. All works, never wrecked, looks runs like new — $225,000 (NOTE: Two Hundred Twenty Five Thousand Dollars NOT Twenty-two Thousand Five Hundred).
Louisville, KY
Serious Buyers Only Please – SERIOUS INQUIRIES CALL CELL PHONE“
Yea or Nea: What say you about our assessment of the price of this Studebaker Golden Hawk? Comment below and let us know!
