7 rare Packard Twelves set for London showcase

By Lizzie Pope

| 16 Feb 2022

Classic & Sports Car – 7 rare Packard Twelves set for London showcase

A magnificent seven 1930s Packard Twelves will come together at this year’s Concours of Elegance, marking the first time they’ve been displayed outside the US.

The cars coming to the 2-4 September event at Hampton Court Palace, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, are all from The JBS Collection and have all undergone concours-standard restorations.

And the oldest of these is pictured above, a 1933 Packard Twelve Coupe Roadster, of which just five were built and this is one of only two survivors.

It comes from the first year of Packard Twelve production, it’s powered by a 7.3-litre, 160bhp V12, and it was only in this year that these cars had fold-out windows.

LeBaron-bodied Victoria has a unique interior (left); organisers call this a ‘once in a lifetime’ chance to see this set, including this 1934 Packard Twelve Coupe Roadster

Four Packards produced in 1934 will join the line-up, starting with a deep blue Twelve Coupe Roadster, again with V12 power, this time mated to a three-speed selective synchromesh manual gearbox.

The Concours of Elegance display will also feature a brown 1934 Twelve Formal Sedan, which has the same 12-cylinder engine as the coupés, but additional seating and distinctive ‘suicide’ doors.

One of the other 1934 cars is unique. It’s a Packard Twelve Victoria wearing a LeBaron body, with a bespoke Dietrich interior, the only time this is believed to have been specified in a Victoria.

It is one of fewer than 10 survivors and has the optional radio, significant because this was the first Packard with that available as an extra.

Louise Arner Boyd’s ’34 Packard (left); Charlie Chaplin’s 1936 car has also appeared alongside Pierce Brosnan

We have American heiress and adventurer, and the first woman to fly over the North Pole, Louise Arner Boyd to thank for the fourth 1934 Packard in this showcase.

It is a Dietrich custom Packard Twelve Convertible Sedan that she used around the world, including in rural Poland in the 1930s – and has since been a Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance award winner.

And there are more famous faces linked to the next car, a one-of-two black 1936 Packard Twelve All Weather Cabriolet, powered by an upgraded 7.8-litre engine and owned by Charlie Chaplin via Charlie Chaplin Studios.

It also appeared in ’70s films The Godfather and The Betsy, and in ’80s TV drama Remington Steele, alongside Pierce Brosnan.

‘Suicide’ doors for this 1934 Twelve Formal Sedan; new design features are clear to see on the 1938 Packard Twelve Convertible Coupe

The youngest car in this line-up is also one of the last Packard Twelves built. It is the 24th of 32 1607 Twelve Convertible Coupes Packard made in 1938, and it’s thought to be one of eight remaining examples.

Finished in Columbian Beige, it has a new-for-1938 look, wearing a more upright radiator and a V-shaped windscreen, and with bodywork partially enclosing the side-mounted spare wheels.

These seven cars will be among around 1000 on display at the Concours of Elegance on 2-4 September, including a set of Ferrari Formula One cars to mark the 70th anniversary of the marque’s first World Championship win.

To find out more and buy tickets, please click here.

Images: Concours of Elegance/The JBS Collection/Grant Beachy

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