1937 Packard One Twenty Darrin Convertible Victoria

Packard introduced its first 'mid-priced' model, the 120, in 1935, and it was offered in a range of factory-produced body styles. The offerings remained relatively unchanged for 1937 except for the addition of a modern new Convertible Victoria designed and built by the coachbuilder Howard 'Dutch' Darrin. The design was based on the Packard Eight Business Coupe, but Darrin abandoned Packard's rather staid factory coachwork when he designed this rakish two-door car. At first, Packard was unimpressed and the design wasn't offered by Packard as an official option, but this changed in 1939 after an example was shown at a convention in Detroit and advertised as the 'Glamour Car of the Year.' About 100 Convertible Victorias were built by Darrin over the following five years.

This early example was first owned by the actor Clark Gable, but he returned it to Darrin, who then sold it to another actor, Errol Flynn.