Packard 160 Super 8 Convertible Coupe, 1940
Packard Super Eight
Packard Super Eight•
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Chassis No.: 13792287
Auction: Monterey 2018
Auction date: August 25, 2018
Lot No.: S207
$44,000 | Sold
- Exterior: Yellow
- Interior: Tan
- Body: Convertible Coupe
- Body-on restoration
- Rebuilt engine
- Newer leather upholstery
- Column-shifted 3-speed manual transmission
- Bumper guards
- Woodgrain dash and steering wheel
- Dual side mounts with metal cases
- Fender skirts
- Chrome hubcaps and trim rings
- Wide Whitewall tires
Having enjoyed a body-on restoration, this 1940 Packard 160 Super 8 Convertible Coupe has a column-shifted 3-speed manual transmission linked to a rebuilt engine. The 160 Packard line supplanted the Packard 120, a model that many credit as having saved Packard from the jaws of the Great Depression, which crushed so many luxury brands that only a handful made it into the 1940s, let alone into the 1950s.
Painted in a signature Packard hue of light yellow with a matching interior appointed with red trim and newer leather upholstery, this 160 Super 8 convertible brings a lot to the game with bumper guards, wood-grain dashboard and steering wheel, fender skirts, dual side-mounted spare tires in metal cases, whitewall tires and chrome hubcaps and trim rings. The 160 may have been an entry-level model, but being part of an exclusive luxury brand meant customers still enjoyed one of the plushest automobiles available. Interestingly, moving into the upscale Packard 180 series only meant slightly altered bodywork and an interior of higher-end fabrics and trim pieces.
The 160 was a veritable bargain for the day costing a little more than $1,500, and it largely helped to keep Packard afloat in the delicate days after the Depression leading into World War II. The advertising mantra for Packard was long, “Ask the man who owns one,” and in 1940, Packard introduced a new inline 8-cylinder engine they boldly touted as “The engineer’s engine.” It produced 160 HP, more than any other production engine available in 1940, and with Packard’s already sterling reputation for solid engineering, the new 160 engines were exciting indeed.
This one, a convertible in softer colors, represents a dreamy time in motoring history, a comfortable known in a time of uncertainty in the world climate.
https://www.mecum.com/lots/336650/1940-packard-160-super-8-convertible-coupe/
