I just noticed that my last post on auto sales was on November 25. It was time to resume this series to discover more stuuning cars. It's a good time because in a few weeks, on March 4th, RM Sotheby's, an important actor of the car auction industry in the World, has its annual sale at Amelia Island in Florida, the 24th and maybe the last one (I didn't understand everything on this point, maybe new location for next year, it seems... to be confirmed). There are all kind of cars for this sale, modern supercars to pre-war racers from the 1900s. Today I present you this beautiful 1934 Packard Twelve Sport Coupe :

1934 Packard Twelve Sport 01.jpg

Although I'm less familiar with the pre-war cars, the design is still spectacular, works of art with wheels 😀. This Packard Twelve with its streamlined design was named "the American Autobahnkurier" to make the comparison with the Mercedes-Benz 500 K.

1934 Packard Twelve Sport 02.jpg

It is true that the design was something unique in those days. Not long ago, I saw this illustration, this perfectly illustrates the point. Now it's really boring :

Design is Dead.jpg

Quite a difference

History of Packard Twelve Sport Coupe

To begin with, Packard was an American luxury car company founded in 1898 in Detroit. After World War II, the company struggled against the other 3 big manufacturers : General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler. So Packard joined forces with Studebaker in 1953. This was short lived as 5 years later the last Packard was produced.

1934 Packard Twelve Sport 03.jpg

But let's go back to the 30's, just after the Great Depression (1929), Packard decided to fight against the economic crisis with more luxurious models like with the second generation of the Packard Twelve. The rich always had money. The model received several bodyworks including the one designed by Alexis de Sakhnoffsky, Russian-American automobile designer working for Cord or Aubrun, and produced by LeBaron. Everything was put in the aerodynamism with tapered tails, rounded fenders... This model with its plate 1106-4 was the first Sport COupes by LeBaron, only 4 were produced this year.

Specification

The Packard Twelve was equipped a twelve-cylinder engine named the Twin Six and then Packard Twelve producing 160 hp.

1934 Packard Twelve Sport 10.jpg

This model was presented during the 1934 New York Auto Show car. After the event, the car returned to the Packard factory in order to be updated in the in-house coachbuilding facility with a new front (grille and head lamps). The car was originally finished in gun-metal gray with a black leather top. The interior was red leather and burgund carpet. It was restored in the 80's. Pure Art Deco beauty.