1934 Packard 1108 Twelve Convertible Sedan

The Packard Twelve was one of the finest automobiles produced by Packard and one of the most significant creations of the Classic Era. Most of the 3,500 V-12 engined Packards received factory bodies but this car's coachwork was styled by Raymond Dietrich and featured his trademark Vee-windshield. The design was slightly updated by Count Alexis de Sakhnoffsky for 1934, with a longer hood line flowing over the cowl. This Convertible Sedan was the most popular of the Vee-windshield Packards as it offered the intimacy and comfort of a closed car with the top raised and the racy look of a true phaeton with the top down.

This Packard visited the Pebble Beach Concours for the first time in 2017 although it was once owned by former Pebble Beach Concours Co-Chairman Lorin Tryon.

This Eleventh Series Twelve Convertible Sedan was delivered by the Packard Seattle Co. on April 30th of 1934. Its original owner is not known but it is believed to have been a wealthy lady who owned women's clothing stores on the West Coast. It later moved to Northern California and entered the car of Mr. Chenier and later, Marchant. Mr. Lorin Tryon, a longtime co-chair of the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, acquired the car from Marchant in the early 1960s. By this point in history, the car had been given a built-in trunk at the rear of the car. This was later removed with the assistance of another surviving Dietrich Individual Custom convertible sedan as a reference.

The car was later sold to Roger Henderson and later acquired by Harold Crosby who completed the restoration in a two-tone green livery. In the summer of 1977, the car was sold to Harry Rinker of Newport Beach, who displayed it for the first time at the Classic Car Club of America Grand Classic in Santa Barbara that year. The car scored a perfect 100 points and eventually achieved Senior status (badge no. 824). The car remained with Mr. Rinker for over three decades before it was sold to a West coast collection. A few years later, it entered the current owner's care. A fresh restoration soon began and finished in the color scheme of Packard Blue, which is believed to be the original color, with a brown leather interior and a black cloth top. After the work was completed, it was shown at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance.

By Daniel Vaughan | Jul 2019