Background
The first Humber car to be launched after World War II, the Humber Hawk was effectively a Hillman 14 wearing a different badge from within the Rootes Group.
The engine, which it shared with the Sunbeam Talbot 90, produced 56 bhp.
Introduced in September 1947, the Mk II version was pretty much identical save for an upgraded gearbox which made it harder, but not impossible, to crash the gears.
1948’s Mk III was an altogether new car with a body designed by the legendary Loewy studio.
The Mk IV of 1951 saw the introduction of a larger, 2267cc engine and a corresponding power hike to 58bhp.
The Mk V of September 1952 featured a redesigned front, upgraded mechanicals and could be ordered in ‘limousine’ spec.
Not until the Mk VI's arrival in 1954 did the Hawk get the overhead-valve engine it had needed all along. Inherited from the Sunbeam-Talbot 90, this 2,267cc unit was coupled to the existing four-speed column-change gearbox, which now could be ordered with Laycock overdrive.
Other Mk VI improvements included a front anti-roll bar and an enlarged boot.
A Times motoring correspondent of the day wrote that any previous Hawk owner would surely be "astonished" by the Mark VI's 20 per cent increase in power and ability to cruise along comfortably 70mph.
The last of the separate-chassis Hawks was the Mk VIA, which featured 'De Luxe' paintwork and trim.







