1935 Packard Twelve Sport Phaeton

1935 Packard Twelve Sport Phaeton
Sold for $286,000 Including Commission
RM Auction, Amelia Island, Florida 2014
Vehicle no. 821-202
Series 1207. 175 bhp, 473 cu. in. modified L-head V-12 engine, three-speed selective synchromesh manual transmission, independent coil-spring front suspension and live rear axle with semi-elliptic leaf springs, and vacuum-assisted four-wheel mechanical drum brakes. Wheelbase: 139 in.
•Believed to be one of only four built in 1935
•Older restoration with known history from new
•Formerly owned by Walter Cunny and Gerald Greenfield
•CCCA Full Classic and eligible for all tours and events
As true open models faded from popularity in the mid-1930s, 1935 would be the next-to-last year for a real dual-cowl phaeton on a Packard chassis. King of the road was the 1207 Sport Phaeton, with its powerful V-12 engine on the 139-inch wheelbase chassis. It was priced at $4,290 before options, which was quite a heady sum in 1935, as the United States was still recovering from the Great Depression. Accordingly, it is believed that only four of these cars were built that year, and of those, only three survive.
The Packard presented here was originally delivered in the prosperous Chicago suburb of Lake Forest, Illinois. In the early 1950s, it was acquired by David Dangler, a vice-president in the Trust Department of Northern Trust Bank, from an estate in Lake Forest, which is believed to have been that of the original owner. Dangler is believed to have sold the car to Jay Gross, a lawyer in the small town of Princeton, Illinois, and the owner of the Princeton Auto Museum.
The Packard next passed to renowned collector Walter Cunny, and it was during his ownership that this car received a frame-up restoration, which was performed over a period of five years by Fuller Brothers Restorations, of Clinton, Iowa. During the restoration, the car was equipped with the desirable option of covered side-mounted spares, which it still retains today. The handsome Packard then went on to be awarded 99.25 points at the 21st Classic Concours in Indiana in 1977, as well as 100 points at the 1979 Indiana Grand Classic. Photos of this car appear in the March/April 1980 issue of The Dashboard, the newsletter of the CCCA’s Greater Illinois Region, as well as on page 37 of the February 1995 issue of Collectible Automobile.
In 1996, the car was sold from Cunny’s collection to Dr. Gerald Greenfield, the well-known Packard enthusiast from Washington state. Following ownership in another private collection, it was most recently acquired by the present owner and collector, in whose care it has been very well maintained. Now, it is only a slightly older restoration, and it nonetheless presents very well with good details, which include its proper canvas side curtains.
This rare Packard is a splendid open-air CARavan car that is as wonderful for touring today as when it was new. It is one of the last of a legendary body style, and it is ready to be treasured, as it has been since 1935, by its next enthusiast owner.
Robert Myrick Photography
Shot With Canon XA-10