Beschreibung:

Always built to the highest standards, the Packard was unquestionably one of the finest American cars of the pre-war era. Dissatisfaction with his Winton motor carriage is said to have spurred James Ward Packard to build a superior automobile. Aided by his brother and two defectors from the Winton company, Packard set up shop in his electrical engineering factory in Warren, Ohio, from which the first Packard car - the single-cylinder Model A runabout - emerged in November 1899. The Packard's innovative engineering and superior build quality were soon attracting the attention of wealthy clients, William D Rockefeller purchasing two at the New York Automobile Show in November 1900. ‘Ask The Man Who Owns One,’ was adopted as the company’s advertising slogan. Cars powered by two-, four- and six-cylinder engines quickly followed, before Packard became the first manufacturer to introduce a series production V12 with the launch of the Twin Six for 1916. An immense success for the company, the Twin Six lasted until the arrival of the new-for-’24 Packard Single Eight, the company’s first car to employ four-wheel brakes. The nine-bearing sidevalve straight-eight engine developed 85bhp from 357.8cu in (5.9 liters) and the line-up initially comprised ten models on two wheelbase lengths. With the introduction of custom models in 1926 the Eight range increased dramatically. ‘Original Creations by Master Designers’ according to Packard, the custom offerings were bodied by Derham, Dietrich, Fleetwood, Holbrook and Judkins among others. Bijur chassis lubrication and hypoid final drive gears had arrived on the Eight by 1927, at which time the engine was enlarged to 6.3 liters. By now maximum power had risen to 105bhp, an output sufficient to propel the far from lightweight Eight to a top speed of 80mph. 1929 saw Packard building eight-cylinder cars only, and marked the introduction chrome-plated brightwork, parabolic headlamps, and a dashboard-mounted water temperature gauge in place of the preceding Motometer. Also new was the base-model 319.2cu in (5.2-liter) Standard Eight, the larger engine continuing to power the Custom and DeLuxe Eights. The latter were built on 140.5” and 145.5” wheelbases respectively, and featured coachwork by Dietrich, LeBaron and Rollston. Prices ranged from $3,175 to $5,985. A landmark car dating from the very first year of eight-cylinder Packard production, this Single Eight featured in the motion picture, ‘The Great Gatsby’ (1974) starring Robert Redford and Mia Farrow. Currently in the hands of only its third owner, the car benefits from a cosmetic restoration undertaken circa 10 years ago and is reported as in good mechanical condition.