Prominent Packards

Savoy Automobile Museum, Cartersville (Georgia), USA

Until December 1st, 2024

The new temporary exhibition “Prominent Packards” at the Savoy Automobile Museum highlights one of America’s most prestigious automakers. Founded in 1899, Packard quickly acquired an image of high quality. By the 1910s, Packard had become one of the world’s most prestigious manufacturers, offering some of the most expensive cars in the United States.

With a dozen models from the museum’s permanent collection or on loan from collectors and museums, the Savoy Museum’s exhibition presents some of the most important milestones in the history of the Packard brand. The 1924 Model 136 4-seater Coupe, equipped with a powerful in-line 8-cylinder engine and its 4-wheel brakes was a first in the USA.

The 1930 Roadster 740 was one of the most luxurious cars of its era, and the model on display won a prize at the 2012 Pebble Beach Concours. Another Pebble Beach prize-winner, the 1931 Roadster 845 is one of 2 roadsters built on the basis of the 845 model. Also beautifully restored is the 1934 Coupé 1101, which combines a Packard Eight chassis and engine with a Super Eight body – a rare, if not unique, combination.

2 models with “Woodie” bodies, with a more utilitarian look but still with Packard styling and finish, the 1941 120 luxury station wagon retains a very “pre-war” line, while the 1948 “Standard Eight” adopts a much more streamlined body.

The “youngest” car in the show is a 1953 Caribbean convertible: whitewall tires, wide chrome grille, chrome lines all along the body, it expresses all the exuberance of American cars of the 1950s!

The photos on this page belong to the Savoy Automobile Museum, no right of reproduction without the express permission of the museum.