1935 Packard Twelve Sport Coupe

In the early 1930s, the Packard Motor Car Company offered some of the most dramatic and elegant motorcars of the Classic era. This is rather remarkable, as Packard management was primarily composed of engineers, and coachwork was regarded as a necessity that was required to sell the finished chassis. Fortunately, management was not averse to selling the Packard chassis to outside coachbuilders — a practice that started in the late 1910s.

Raymond Dietrich and Thomas Hibbard founded LeBaron Carrossiers in 1920 with the purpose of designing and building custom coachwork automobiles. By 1925, both of the founders had left the firm, and in 1926 it was acquired by Briggs Manufacturing, who continued to build standard bodies for Packard until 1952, when it was acquired by Chrysler. LeBaron, however, continued as a coachbuilding subsidiary, and a new design center, LeBaron Studios, was established to build custom bodies in small series.

In 1925, Packard established their Custom Body Division, which acquired individual body styles in lots of 10 to as many as 100 of a particular design and included them in their catalog as factory customs. Of course, they still offered individual full-custom bodies for their well-heeled clients who demanded a truly unique motorcar.

In the late 1920s, many of the Packards that were designed by Raymond Dietrich and Dietrich Inc. wore body tags stating “Custom Made by Packard” or “Dietrich Inc.” Packard, using a professional stylist and adding a few minor accessories along with a body tag, was able to charge almost twice as much compared with the equivalent standard body offering. A profitable business indeed.

Dietrich, Macauley and Sakhnoffsky

Raymond Dietrich was an integral part of Packard’s custom offerings, serving as an in-house “body critic,” independent designer and founder of Dietrich Inc., the firm from which he was ousted in 1931.

In January 1931, Edward Macauley was appointed by his father, Alvan Macauley, the president of Packard, as head of the new Packard styling division.

“He was no designer; he was a playboy,” Dietrich said of Edward Macauley. That salvo may have been the reason Packard did not keep Dietrich as a styling consultant.

Dietrich’s prior designs were, however, integral parts of the last “Custom Made by Packard” offerings, including the spectacular 1933 Chicago Exhibition “Car of the Dome.” Dietrich, however, was now firmly established at Chrysler, where he was in charge of exterior styling.

So Edward Macauley hired Count Alexis de Sakhnoffsky as a body stylist. Sakhnoffsky was responsible for the false hood that extended back to the cowl — increasing the apparent length of the car. This had been used on the Car of the Dome, and it was part of the design for the last “Custom Made by Packard,” which was the 1106 sport coupe that was presented at the 1934 New York Auto Show.

A delightful blend of styling

The RM Sotheby’s catalog stated that the sport coupe with its fastback roofline was inspired by the Mercedes-Benz Autobahn-Kurier, but that vehicle was also introduced in 1934 at the March Berlin Auto show.

The design for the Packard sport coupe was a blend of the false hood of Sakhnoffsky, the Dietrich waistline, the split windshield of the Car of the Dome and the pontoon fenders of the famous 1934 Macauley Speedster.

Four sport coupes were produced. Originally, they all had the unique “teardrop” windows and a steel roof. In addition to the sport coupe, a Runabout Speedster was also presented. Both were built on a shortened 136-inch wheelbase with the V12 engine. They were built at LeBaron, but Packard attributed them to their Custom Body Division.

A very special Packard

The 1106 sport coupe offered by RM Sotheby’s was the actual New York Auto Show car. It was not offered to the public. It was taken back to the factory, where it received the Twelfth Series 1935 front sheet metal and a leather-covered top that obscured the rear quarter windows.

The teardrop windows were merely covered — you can feel their outline in the headliner. While the other three examples were sold at a list price of $7,746, the factory kept this car until 1939, and its ownership history is well documented since that time.

It was restored in the 1980s while it was part of the Jerry J. Moore Collection. While the car has been well maintained, it is now in need of attention. The paint is cracked on the front fender, and there are other minor signs of age.

These minor flaws did not discourage bidders, as the car sold at the high end of the expected range. Should the new owner be concerned? Absolutely not, as he owns one of the most striking Packards ever produced. While there are three others, this is the documented World’s Fair car with unique factory modifications. In today’s market, $2.2 million was a very reasonable transaction. ♦

(Introductory description courtesy of RM Sotheby’s.)