1920 Packard Twin Six 3-35 Runabout

Packard introduced their new 6-cylinder car in 1912, and it was called 'The Six.' Later, under the leadership of engineer Jesse Vincent, a 12-cylinder engine was introduced, which by late 1915 was dubbed the 'Twin Six.' The V12 engine was comprised of two 6-cylinder blocks set at a 60-degree angle linked by an aluminum crankcase. It was a side-valve design that displaced a total of 424 cubic inches and produced 88 horsepower. There were 7,746 examples of the Packard Twin Six sold in its introductory year, with figures increasing to 8,899 in 1917.

The Packard Twin Six was the first twelve-cylinder engine put into series production anywhere in the world. It made history from the day it was born and continued to do so from the spring of 1915 when it was introduced until June 1923 when it was discontinued. The first automobile to carry a U.S. president to his inauguration was the Twin Six which Warren Harding rode in 1921. In all, 35,000 people purchased one leaving Packard a legacy that would far outlast the storied company from East Grand Avenue.

This 1920 Packard Twin Six is a Model 3-35, a four-passenger rumble seat roadster built on a 136-inch wheelbase. 1920 was the first year that Packard made a factory body, and this car is the earliest known Packard with this body style. It was put away in a barn in Michigan in the early 1950s and remained untouched until 2012. The car still had its original paint and interior when the current owner purchased it in 2013, but it was sadly too far gone to preserve and the decision was made to fully restore the car using as many of the original parts as possible.