Humber Hawk History
Catalog record
This is a brief catalog introduction with limited source documentation. A licensed, identity-checked lead photograph has not yet been added for this page. Detailed year, configuration and ownership coverage must be identified separately; this page is not a complete vehicle catalog.
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Model history available. Detailed year guides are not published for this model.
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Launched after the war in 1945, the Hawk was the four-cylinder volume Humber, a solid, comfortable large saloon pitched at businessmen and officialdom. Early Mark I and II cars used a side-valve engine; the line was repeatedly redeveloped through the 1940s and 1950s, gaining a bigger engine, an overhead-valve cylinder head and, from 1955, an estate version.
A completely new Hawk arrived in May 1957 with a modern, American-influenced body and unitary (chassis-less) construction, sold as the Series I through Series IVA. It shared its shell with the six-cylinder Super Snipe and carried the Humber traditions of a beautifully trimmed interior and unhurried refinement. Production of the Hawk, Super Snipe and Imperial all ceased in 1967 after Chrysler took control of Rootes.
Generations
Mark I–VIA · Separate-chassis Hawk
The original body-on-chassis Hawks; side-valve four at first, later an enlarged overhead-valve engine, with an estate added in 1955.
1954 Photo: “File:1954 Humber Hawk Mk VI Saloon.jpg” by Sicnag / Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY 2.0. Cropped to 16:9.
1956 Photo: “File:1956 Humber Hawk Mk VI Saloon (16342227000).jpg” by Sicnag / Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY 2.0. Cropped to 16:9.
Series I–IVA · Unitary Hawk
All-new unitary-construction body launched May 1957, sharing its shell with the Super Snipe; built until production ended in 1967.
1960 Photo: “File:Humber Hawk Series II (1960).jpg” by andreboeni / Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY 2.0. Cropped to 16:9.
1962 Photo: “File:1962 Humber Hawk Series II (21594532380).jpg” by Jeremy from Sydney, Australia / Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY 2.0. Cropped to 16:9.
1967 Photo: “File:1967 Humber Hawk Series IVA 2.3.jpg” by Vauxford / Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Cropped to 16:9.
Body styles
- Saloon
- Estate
- Limousine
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