GT Two Tone!

[mfg]

The Gran Turismo Hawks Studebaker sent to Bonneville in the fall of 1963 were two- toned to foreshadow the upcoming vinyl roof option on this model….True?

[mfg]

No thoughts here?

[Mark63Avanti]

I feel like I'm always wrong and I wanted to say true so I'm going to FALSE.

[mfg]

1 hour ago, Mark63Avanti said:

I feel like I'm always wrong and I wanted to say true so I'm going to FALSE.

Well done…..FALSE is correct….Now, can anyone guess WHY those two Hawks were two-toned??

[mfg]

No one wants to take a crack at why the Bonneville GT Hawks were two-toned?

[Nelson]

They probably would have lost the vinyl top at speed.

[mfg]

36 minutes ago, Nelson said:

They probably would have lost the vinyl top at speed.

Yes, the vinyl possibly would have lifted…. However, the reason the Granatellis painted the forward section of the GT Hawks roof white (silver?) was to help DEFLECT THE SUN’S HEAT!

[regnalbob]

Factory production data from the Studebaker Museum indicate the two Bonneville Hawks were the only 1964 Hawks with the factory painted Sport Roof.

[mfg]

18 hours ago, regnalbob said:

Factory production data from the Studebaker Museum indicate the two Bonneville Hawks were the only 1964 Hawks with the factory painted Sport Roof.

That makes sense …. I assumed the Granatellis painted those two roofs, but now It sounds like the two tone was done at the factory…. Interesting!

[Nelson]

I thought they were black? I saw one back in the day but don’t remember it being silver?

[mfg]

2 hours ago, Nelson said:

I thought they were black? I saw one back in the day but don’t remember it being silver?

Nope… The two Bonneville GT Hawks had the forward section of their roofs painted either silver or white… not really sure which color.

 This was done supposedly to deflect some heat from interior.