Prior to WW2 the Packard Automobile was considered to
be one of the worlds finest motor cars, an American equivelant
of England's Rolls Royce.
Slow to meet with the times following the war, and forced
into the realisation that Cadillacs were far outselling
their own vehicles, Packard finally introduced a V8 into
its range in
1955.
Unable to compete with the "Big 3" US manufacturers,
Packard purchased Studebaker, a move that would eventually
cause the demise of the prestigous car manufacturer.
There was, however, one high point during the amalgamation
- the Packard Hawk. This 2 door sports coupe, based on
an existing Studebaker body, featured leather trim, full
white-on-black instrumentation, wing vents and a dramatic
(fake) bonet scoop.
But the best part of the car was under the hood - the
4.7 litre V8 coupled to a McCulloch belt driven supercharger
that produced 275 bhp.
