1938 Packard 1601 Eight Convertible Coupe

For 1938 the Packard One Twenty was briefly renamed the Series Eight. New this year was all-steel construction in the body which made the cars somewhat heavier than the 1937 models.

A new styling trend for the 1938 model year was a small chrome stripe that split the front windshield and ran onto the roof giving it a sleek appearance.

The year 1938 was the first for the famed Packard Darrins of Hollywood, CA. This car was one of eight made that year. These early Darrins set the stage - as the car was lowered 3 inches, its hood stretched 9 inches and its windshield lowered and 'raked.' Forward-opening 'suicide doors' were low-slung. And the interior was racey with bucket seats and an airplane cowling above the recessed dash.

This car was originally owned by Adolf Zuker, a Paramount Picture motion picture mogul. In the fall of 1939, the car underwent a front 'facelift' to give it a unique appearance. This update makes this car the only 1938 Darrin with a 1940 front clip and grille. It is one of only eight custom-made Victorias that were hand built in 1938 by Howard 'Dutch' Darrin at his Hollywood, California shop. Noted for its long and sleek hood and rather short rear deck, it is a true one-off automobile.

This Packard Darrin is also considered to be the first to be built without running boards. The oversized forward facing suicide doors are low slung and easily became the signature feature of the Darrin designed automobile.

Additional features include bucket seats with a sporty dash that included leather 'airplane cowling' atop the dash.

In 2011 this car was restored from the ground up and then driven on a 4,200 mile cross country tour from New York City to San Francisco.