For Sale at Auction: 1937 Packard Convertible in Newport, Rhode Island

Vehicle No. 1007-279
Engine No. 400285 A

The introduction of the One Twenty in 1935 gave Packard the volume it needed to weather the Depression, but the Senior cars remained the foundation of the company's reputation. The Fifteenth Series Super Eight of 1937 was arguably the best of them. Its 320-cubic-inch L-head straight-eight produced 135 horsepower with the effortless smoothness that had long been the marque's signature, while the new model year brought Packard's first independent front suspension together with hydraulic brakes. The result was a Senior Packard that steered lightly, rode superbly, and stopped in a manner befitting its performance, qualities that continue to make these among the most rewarding American classics to drive today.

Of the open Fifteenth Series bodies, the Convertible Victoria was the most graceful. Its blind rear quarters and low, neatly folding top lent a formality that the Convertible Coupe lacked, and the style carried forward the Dietrich influence that Packard continued to invoke long after Ray Dietrich himself had ceased contributing designs.

This car spent nearly three decades in a single Florida collection, acquired by that owner in 1989 and fully restored during that tenure by renowned specialist Steve Babinski in 2001 to national prize-winning standards. Driven only sparingly afterward, it passed to the current owner in 2018. Presented in classic Packard Cream with a Haartz tan canvas top over saddle leather upholstery and brown Wilton Wool carpeting, it is fitted with a handsome wood-grain dash, a radio with its under-dash speaker, a Packard Deluxe accessory heater, dual side-mounted spares with metal covers, BFGoodrich Silvertown wide whitewall tires, and the Cormorant mascot. A CCCA Full Classic, and exceptionally well kept since its restoration, still so fresh that its restoration presents as though completed just a few years ago, and running whisper-quiet and smooth, it would be equally at home on a CARavan or on the regional concours field.