Vehicle Description
Vehicle to be offered for Auction sale WITHOUT RESERVE and SOLD to
the highest bidder August 17th - 19th, 2017 at Russo and Steele's
17th Annual Monterey, California Auction. Please contact us for
more information. This dashing and sexy vehicle is the Packard
Roadster that "never was". Imagined and planned for 20 years, the
1949 Packard Custom Eight (#2252), was finally completed in 2007 by
Arizona expert Coachbuilder Von Rudolph as a tribute to the 1948-49
celebrated 22nd Series MotorCar redesign. 1949 was a special time
for the Packard Motor Company, as it marked the "Golden
Anniversary" in their 50th year. This sporty "DreamCar" was the
ultimate in luxury automobiles. In its 2nd year of production,
Packard quite literally "found gold" with the new aerodynamically
styled line of beauties. In 1948, the design won New York's
"Fashion Car of the Year" and Packard received worldwide praise for
their new streamlined MotorCars. The vision was to imagine
persuading Packard to add a sleek, high cowled Roadster on special
order for high end clients. Sparing no expense, metal and interior
stylist, Von Rudolph restored the Packard with a focus on artistry.
The Roadster features Packard's original powerful and legendary
"356" cu in, Straight 8 Engine with a 3 speed transmission that
includes Overdrive. Special features include an open cockpit,
Rakish Cowl, custom Speedster Chrome windshield framing, removable
(Conv/Carson-like) softop, a rumble seat, a gold plated dash,
interior handles and horn ring. All of which compliment the
luscious and expertly design "Von Rudolph" leather and cloth
seating. The Kelsey-Hayes chrome wire wheels and the artfully
engineered 4 full wheel fender skirts (Packard called them
shrouds). Two shrouds are custom-fit to the front wheels (for
display and parade celebrations) with partial lower speed
driving/handling ability. Cruising with the Roadster, is sure to
leave the crowds gasping in awe. The elegant Packard is a touring
and parade car extraordinaire. The retro prototype has unlimited
show and concours potential, with a guarantee that you will never
see another like it!
