1930 Packard 745 Dual Cowl Sports Phaeton
Registration no. BS9300
Chassis no. 182992
Engine no. 12429

After a brief recession at the end of World War 1, the American economy had virtually a complete decade of the most amazing prosperity the country had ever seen. The United States was already motorised to a far greater degree than Europe or anywhere else (Henry Ford and the Dodge brothers had seen to that) but throughout the 1920s the choice and splendour available to the wealthy increased massively. Cadillac made some very high-quality machines, as did Lincoln, but both had the faintest taint of mass production due to their parent companies being General Motors and Ford, and among the other prestige Marques, Pierce-Arrow were unquestionably well crafted, but tended to have slightly frumpy coachwork. Of the remainder, Packard stood out, being consistently elegant as well as beautifully built, and taking great care with their marketing to preserve an air of well-bred exclusivity. The strap line was always "Ask the man who owns one", very cunningly suggesting that ownership conferred membership of a very grand but still intimate, club, and the illustration was usually of the car standing outside some New England mansion or other tasteful Establishment venue.

The company boomed throughout the 1920s, offering a wide variety of formal and informal coachwork, but were always careful to have available some open cars too. Today's offering is among the final flowering of these masterpieces of the American Vintage era, being a 745 Sport Phaeton, which designated the longest (145") wheelbase version of the Seventh Series. The great bonnet covered a 6.3 litre straight-eight engine of astonishing smoothness and balanced the flowing lines flawlessly. The model was introduced in the autumn of 1929, and ironically BS9300 dates from almost exactly the weeks when the American stock market was exhibiting the first tremors of what would come to be known as the Wall Street Crash.

Chassis number 182992 spent along time in the splendid collection of Malcolm Pray, a New York businessman and discerning collector. The car is displayed in a hard backed book in the cars history file which features some of the magnificent cars he owned. The Packard rubbed shoulders with Duesenberg, Rolls-Royce, Auburn, Cord and Cadillac. During his ownership, the car underwent an extremely high-quality restoration which has stood the test of time in a remarkable manner. It made its way to the United Kingdom in 2003 where it remained in another fine collection before being acquired by its previous owner in 2011.

Today 'BS9300' remains in truly impressive condition. The beautifully proportioned and extremely well-crafted factory coachwork is finished in cardinal red forming a subtle but pleasing contrast to the sweeping wings finished in carmine.

The panel fit and finish remains after 90 years phenomenally sound, including the beautifully designed metal tonneau to the rear cowl, and folding rear screen. The chrome work, always a feature on American cars, even one as subtle as this one is in delightful condition.

The unostentatious and refined luxury of the interior appointments, featuring button back Morocco tan leather, still subtle and as pleasing to touch as it is to see. Even the highest quality American interiors usually featured less elaborate cabinetry that a British or European car, but in this case, Packard craftsman have employed beautiful, placed accents at various points which work toward the harmonious delightful whole.

The hood fits beautifully and is elegant and truly functional. The weather equipment includes well-crafted side screens held in a tailor-made pouch.

Mechanically the car has always proved as smooth and dependable as Packard's routinely were, with effortless performance, and certainly will be a revelation to those accustomed to manoeuvring European luxury cars of a similar size from this period.

There is a reassuring amount of paperwork, some of which dates to its days in America. This includes a charming hardback book about the Pray collection, and records of the continuous detailed effort which it has subsequently received during its time in the UK.

This is one of the prime models of the greatest period of American vintage luxury motoring and is one of only 14 survivors, an icon of American splendour before the dark days of the 1930's dawned.