1915 Packard Model 1-25 Tourer

By 1915, Packard had established itself as a manufacturer of prestige cars and had adopted the slogan, 'Ask the Man Who Owns One', demonstrating their record of owner satisfaction.

The new twin six was a vehicle that would place the company in the luxury field for the next two decades and set the tone of Packard's overall thinking for many years. The cars were keyed directly to the upper-scale sales bracket. They debuted in May of 1915 and featured a 60-degree V-12, with two blocks of six cylinders set on an aluminum crankcase. The powerplant was designed by chief engineer Jesse Vincent, had a displacement size of 424 cubic inches, and offered 88 horsepower.

Two series were offered, 1-25 with nine models and 1-35 with 13 styles. The designations were based on wheelbase, not horsepower. The 2-door passenger coupe cost was $2,700 and the 3-passenger coupe was $3,700. One of the Twin Six's best testimonials came from the home of Rolls Royce. 'For twenty years the Packard car had held the reputation of being in America what the Rolls Royce is in England.' The chassis of the new Twin-six bears no resemblance to earlier Packard's it is channel section pressed steel 6 inches deep. The front axles are I-beam with roller bearings and the rear axles are beam tubular steel, semi-floating.

Packard introduced the Twin Six engine in May 1915 for the 1916 model year. Twin Six models had the gearbox relocated from the rear axle to a position located behind the clutch housing. The shift lever was still located to the left of the driver.

The standard paint color for open cars was Packard blue striped with cream yellow for body and door panels. The fenders, frame, hood, underbody, and many of the other components were painted black. The wheels were cream yellow striped with black. The closed cars were painted Packard blue striped with black for the door panels and the body.


The body style prices ranged from $3,050 to $5,150. By the time their successors, the 2-25 and 2-35, arrived in August of 1916, nearly 8,000 examples had been built. They proved to be very popular, outselling their nearest luxury competitor, the Pierce-Arrow, by four-to-one that year, and nearly eight-to-one the next.

Variations on the Twin Six were Packard's only offerings through 1920, when a lighter and less expensive car, variously referred to as the Single Six, Light Six, or Series 116, joined the line in September.

This particular example has an unknown early history. It was owned by Harry D. Horton of Springfield, Missouri in the 1950s. In 1958, ownership passed to George V. Horton. Bradley Skinner, of Bartlesville, Oklahoma purchased it in December of 1967. Its current owner acquired it around a year later.

In the 1980s, it was given a body-off restoration. It is painted in deep blue and has black buttoned leather upholstery and a black canvas top. The rear compartment has jump seats for two. The instrumentation included a Warner AutoMeter, a Waltham eight-day clock, gauges for oil pressure and gasoline, and an ammeter.

By Daniel Vaughan | Nov 2015