1940 Packard Custom Super-8 One-Eighty Convertible Sedan

Howard 'Dutch' Darrin designed elegant and extravagant open-body styles, such as this Convertible Sedan. It was constructed atop of a custom eight chassis with a wheelbase 11 inches longer than standard. There were only a dozen of these Packards built with only eight in existence. This car has been awarded a CCCA National First Award in 1995.

This car was delivered new by the Packard dealership in Evanston, Illinois. A Packard memo from June 20th of 1940 listed it as available for sale, wearing paint in Ronan's Cream and featuring a khaki Burbank cloth top piped in cream leather, Lackawanna full top grain leather upholstery, and special equipment, such as the center armrest for the front seat. It was available for immediate delivery to a buyer in the Chicago area, where it listed for $6,300.

In the early 1950s the car had made its way to California, where, after a minor accident, it was laid up on a peanut farm in the town of Arvin. Dr. Richard Steiner from Torrance found it there in 1967. He purchased the car and began a restoration. Howard Darrin, living in retirement in nearby Santa Monica, provided insight into the work.

The work was completed in 1994. On June 8th of 1995, it was shown t the California Grand Classic of the Classic Car Club of America, where it was judged at 98 points. It eventually earned its CCCA Senior badge, number 1898S, which the car still wears today.

Dr. Steiner sold the car on May 15th of 1996 to Otis Chandler. The car remained with the Chandler Collection until 2003. It was maintained in a well-known western collection and then in the stable of Mr. and Mrs. Richard Kughn.

The car is finished in Packard Maroon. It has been shown at Meadow Brook, Eyes on Design, and the Amelia Island Concours. It was awarded its CCCA Premier honors with a First Place in the Michigan Grand Classic in 2010.

The car has numerous original accessories, including driving lights, bumper guards, a radio, a heater, a backup, and an Econo-Drive overdrive.

In 2010, this Convertible Sedan was offered for sale at the Gooding & Company Auction held in Scottsdale, Arizona. It was estimated to sell for $150,000 - $200,000. As bidding came to a close, the lot was sold for the sum of $253,000, inclusive of the buyer's premium.

Designer Howard 'Dutch' Darrin created this particular car by stretching the Custom Eight chassis wheelbase by 11 inches. Only a dozen of these cars were built and only eight still exist. It was sold new in Chicago for $6,300. It was discovered in a California peanut farm in 1967 and underwent a 27-year restoration.

By Daniel Vaughan | Oct 2014

There were Packards, and then there were Darrin Packards. Howard 'Dutch' Darrin had been doing custom coachwork on Packards since the early 1920s, but his real 'star' came when he set up shop in Hollywood, customizing Packard coupes into dazzling Convertible Victorias with cut-down doors, a low hood line, and a padded dash. A total of 14 were built in Hollywood through 1939, two on the Super Eight chassis, and the rest on the One-Twenty chassis.

Darrin presented his masterpiece to Packard dealers, who then lobbied the company to offer these stunning cars as 'catalogue customs' which it did through 1942. Darrin built the cars in Connersville, Indiana in 1940, and Packard moved production to Hess & Eisenhardt, in Cincinnati, in 1941 and 1942. About 150 Darrins were built, in all, mostly as Convertible Victorias. A few Sedans and Convertible Sedans were built. This example is one of only three Convertible Sedans built in 1940.