Humber Hawk

The 1957 Humber Hawk had a completely new body with unitary construction which it would share with the 1958 Humber Snipe. The 2267 cc engine was carried over and an automatic transmission was now available. The body was styled in Rootes own studios and featured more glass than previous models with a wrap around front windscreen, which gave it a considerable resemblance to a 1955 Chevrolet.

The Rootes engineers also surmised that the four-speed manual change might prove better suited to some tastes, however in practice this was not altogether true. There was an unfortunate choice of ratios, a long clutch pedal movement and a rather "notchy" steering-column change which spoiled the experience.

Perhaps the most compelling reason to choose the manual transmission was for no other reason that that it was much cheaper; the Borg Warner automatic cost an extra £172 10s including purchase tax, in the United Kingdom.

There was a difference of only 8 m.p.h. between the maximum in first and second gears; and it was found during acceleration tests that no time was lost by starting off in second on level ground. Many motoring writers of the era thought of the manual as a three-speed box for normal purposes, with an emergency ratio in reserve. Third, with a maximum of only 63 m.p.h., was rather low to complement a top gear peaking at some 85 m.p.h.

By comparison with the "automatic" Humber Hawk, the manual had better acceleration figures; the difference was apparent also in the 50-70 m.p.h. range, when each vehicle was in direct drive, engine tune rather than transmission drag being presumed responsible for the automatic's slower response times.

The Humber Hawk offered exceptional roominess and comfort for an engine capacity of only 2.3 liters. This was not achieved through any sacrifice in sweet running or tractability; in the 1950's it was a rare car indeed which could, like the Hawk, trickle along at 7 m.p.h. in top gear on its slow running throttle setting without transmission snatch, and pull away evenly without violent vibration.

From that point the Humber Hawk would accelerate up to 60 m.p.h. in the same ratio with a variation of only 1 second in the four ranges recorded between 10 and 60 m.p.h. Only one second was gained by using third in the 40-60 m.p.h. range - which was further evidence that a higher gear might have improved the Hawk's performance.

A bench-type front seat was standard equipment, and was deeply recessed to provide extra room for the rear passsengers feet. The manual change lever was operated by the left hand. Optimum room for passengers in the rear comportment was achieved by placing the entire seat cushion forward of the wheel arches.

While the Hawk was generally a sound and solid car, there were some minor irritations noted by motoring journalists of the era. These included a sub-standard rear view mirror, it being too small to give a proper field of view through the wide rear window, too shallow to allow for any vertical movement of the driver and, worst of all, would persistently shake out of adjustment.

Although wonderfully effortless and stable at sustained high speeds, the Hawk was somewhat prone to low-speed tire squeal, and the steering was a little heavy for manoeuvring at very low speeds. There were several revisions during the car's life, each resulting in a new Series number. The 1959 Series 1A had minor trim changes and, more importantly, the gear ratios were revised in an effort to make it a true 4 speed manual.

The Series II launched in October 1960 had servo assisted front disc brakes, while the automatic option was no longer available in the UK. The Series III of September 1962 had a larger fuel tank and bigger rear window. The export model automatic option was also dropped. More significant changes came with the October 1964 Series VI. The roof was made flatter, the rear window smaller and an extra side window fitted behind the rear doors. Synchromesh was fitted to bottom gear. An anti-roll bar was fitted at the rear.

After Hawk production ended, Rootes came to concentrate on sectors offering greater volume, no longer featuring as a UK provider of large family cars. It had, in particular, been unusual for UK manufactured cars of this size to feature a spacious station wagon / estate car version: following the demise of the Humber Hawk, the UK market for large estate cars quickly came to be dominated by the Volvo 145 and its successors.