1935 Packard 1202 7-Passenger Sedan (RHD)

Description

The Packard Motor Car Company of Detroit, Michigan produced some of America's finest classics in the Twenties and Thirties, cars now highly prized by collectors around the world. Packard's 1935 model line up was designated the Twelfth Series, ranging from the new medium-priced 120 to the bespoke Twelve. Packard also offered two Eights, the standard version with a 130 hp 320-cid motor and the Super Eight, powered by a larger 384-cid motor with a new aluminium cylinder head generating 150 hp. All Packard Eights for 1935 were built on a new chassis frame with boxed side rails and streamlined styling influenced by the Art Deco era - the radiator was slightly raked and the pontoon-style front and rear fenders gracefully merged with the running boards. Other notable features included front doors hinged from the rear for improved access and the relocation of the handbrake under the cowl. Inside, the instrument panel was revised and the passenger compartment was trimmed either in leather or broadcloth. The Eight was available in three wheelbase lengths, with the 127-inch Model 1200 reserved exclusively for the Five-Passenger Sedan, the 134-inch Model 1201 and the largest, as offered here, was the 139-inch Model 1202 of which the Seven-Passenger Sedan was one of seven factory body styles available. Priced at $2,755, a Packard 1202 so equipped was nearly three times that of the cheapest Packard available, the 120 and enough to buy roughly six Ford V8s at the time. Clearly built for the select few, a total of 4,781 Packard Twelfth Series Eights were built, of which only a tiny number ever reached Australia at a time when the Depression was biting deeply and luxury American automobiles were the preserve of the very wealthy.