Packard 1708 V-12 7-Passenger Limousine, 1939
Packard Twelve
Packard Twelve•
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Chassis No.: 12352108
- Exterior: Black
- Interior: Black/beige
- Body: 7-Passenger Limousine
- CCCA Full Classic
- Previously part of the Browning Collection
- Older restoration
- Modified 473/175 HP V-12 engine
- Stromberg carburetor
- 3-speed manual gearbox
- Independent front suspension
- Rear leaf spring suspension
- 4-wheel vacuum-assisted drum brakes
- Black leather-trimmed driver’s cabin
- Beige cloth passenger compartment
- Wood dash and door sill accents
- Roll down divider window
- Passenger compartment clock
- Luggage rack
- Trippe safety lamps
- Amber fog lamps
- Dual side mounts with metal cases and accessory mirrors
- Swan mascot
- Chrome hubcaps and trim rings
- Wide Whitewall tires
Founded by the Packard brothers in 1899, the Packard Motor Car Company quickly carved a place for itself in the automobile market by building well-engineered, luxury automobiles that also provided high performance. Packard’s advanced engineering prowess was proven in 1915, when it unveiled the Jesse Vincent-designed “Twin Six” engine, the first use of a V-configuration, 12-cylinder engine in a production automobile. While Packard soon moved on to other engine configurations for its high-end luxury cars, it eventually returned to the V-12 engine, in 1932. With the onset of the Great Depression, American car manufacturers found themselves struggling to stay alive.
While many brands succumbed, Packard managed to survive, though demand for its expensive, high-end offerings was decreasing. On January 6, 1932, Packard debuted two new models: a lower-cost, more entry-level model, the “Light Eight,” and a newly redesigned “Twin Six,” a V-12 model at the top of the model line. In 1930, Packard hired powertrain design specialist Cornelius Van Ranst away from Cord to design a new V-12 engine for an innovative new front-wheel drive Packard.
However, with the grim realities of the Great Depression not abetting and competition in the high-end sector from Pierce-Arrow, Marmon and Cadillac’s V-16, Packard ultimately decided instead to install Van Ranst’s compact, 473 CI, 67-degree, V-12 engine conventionally in its most luxurious offerings. In doing so, Packard was able to hedge its bets with both a low-cost model and an expensive, world-class “halo” car. By 1933, Packard would drop the “Twin Six” moniker and simply call the V-12-powered cars the “Twelve.” As the ’30s progressed, the Packard Twelve would be offered in a variety of chassis lengths and body styles, including coupes, sedans, phaetons and limousines, among others.
The Twelve continued to represent the top of the Packard line until 1939, when production halted with onset of World War II. The example on offer is a 17th Series 1939 Packard Twelve (Model 1708) 7-Passenger Limousine that represents one of the last examples of the famous Packard Twelve line. Finished in stately black with a beige cloth interior, the Twelve features an X-braced frame with independent Safe-T-Flex front suspension and a semi-elliptic leaf-sprung live rear axle, and 4-wheel vacuum servo-assisted drum brakes.
Power comes from an increased capacity 473 CI V-12 engine with aluminum L-heads and a Stromberg downdraft carburetor that transmits 175 HP to the synchromesh 3-speed manual gearbox with a column-mounted shifter. Interior appointments include: separated driver/passenger compartments with roll-down divider window; black leather-trimmed driver compartment; stunning, rounded wood dashboard, with wood door-sill and divider accents; passenger-compartment clock and jump seats; passenger-compartment privacy curtains; and roll-down windows. This motorcar is one of just 446 Packard Twelves constructed in 1939, the final year of Twelve production.
In 1977, the car was sold by Robert Castignetti into the famous Browning Collection, later becoming part of the Academy of Art University Collection. Still resplendent on its older restoration, this regal-looking Packard sports dual side-mounted spare tires housed in metal cases topped with accessory mirrors, steel disc wheels with chrome hubcaps and wide whitewall tires, amber fog lights, Trippe safety lamps and a rear-mounted luggage rack. Topping off the package is the iconic Packard Flying Cormorant hood mascot. A CCCA Full Classic, this Packard Limousine represents the final and perhaps highest iteration of Packard’s prewar 12-cylinder line of luxury automobiles.
https://www.mecum.com/lots/361294/1939-packard-1708-v-12-7-passenger-limousine/
