1931 Packard Custom Convertible Sedan
by Jack Pumphrey
Title
1931 Packard Custom Convertible Sedan
Artist
Jack Pumphrey
Medium
Drawing - Pen & Ink
Description
Pen & Ink drawing of a 1931 Packard custom convertible sedan, Packards Eight Series was first offered in August of 1930, just as the Great Depression was beginning to take hold in the United States and the market for luxurious automobiles was shrinking at an alarming rate. The declining market was of course directly related to the financial crisis, but indirectly, many buyers who could still afford such grand automobiles were wary of flaunting their wealth. Thankfully for Packard, there were still enough loyal buyers willing to spend their money on a new Eighth Series, and some were willing to spend even more on custom coachwork. New for 1931 was a line of �Individual Custom� bodies designed by the great American coachbuilders but built in-house alongside the standard catalog bodies at Packard�s Detroit works. Packard went to great lengths to tout these as true custom bodies, in spite of the fact that they were built in the main factory. Several styles were offered depending on the wheelbase specified, ranging from the very formal All-Weather Town Car Landaulet, to the sporting Convertible Victoria, Sport Cabriolet and Style #1881, the Dietrich Convertible Sedan presented here. This 5-passenger body offers the all-weather practicality of roll-up windows and a full convertible top, with the sporting feel of a Dietrich body with its laid back windscreen and low, rakish roofline. With a cost of $5,275 new, it was one of the costliest of all body styles offered that year. As a result, it is believed that just nine examples of Style 1881 were built on the 140� wheelbase, making this an exceedingly rare automobile and highly desirable among Packard enthusiasts. The descriptive copy used here is by Mark Harman classic car sales.
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November 15th, 2015
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