Supercars.net

Compared to all of Packard's closed hard tops, the Lebaron Sport Coupe is the most revered and also one of Packard’s greatest custom designs. Its striking body is a flowing interpretation of a four seat supercar that emphasizes speed without moving.

Approved for production in 1933 by Packard's chief stylist Edward Macauley and the Packard board or directors, the Sport Coupes were planned as a halo model. Thus they was made with no expense spared to showcase Packard's ability to produce the best coupe in the world.

The shape for the Sport Coupe was laid down by LeBaron, but executed at Packard's own facilities. The design was so far reaching that Mercedes-Benz modeled their own Autobahn Kurrier after it and many other French companies later caught onto the act as well.

Since the first three cars were made to tour the show circuit, they were intricately detailed. Each was built on a chassis simply known as the Twelve that had the distinction of being special ordered for custom bodywork. It payed homage to the fact that Packard introduced the world's first V12 for a motorcar in 1915. A narrow angle 'second series' engine was launched in 1932. Most sold for $9000, but records indicate that the LeBaron Sport Coupes were made for $18 000 USD!@

When viewed up close there's little wonder where the money went. Chassis 78315 has a completely walnut decor, with gracious accents throughout. Every piece of the design is refined like a a jewel and coordinate together as a sweeping whole. This philosophy extends to small details such as the rear ashtrays and the complex front windshield surround.

From every angle, the Sport Coupe reveals a new detail. Curves included on the lower edge of the wheel skirts, in the running boards and around the door sill only reveal themselves after closer inspection. The cost of these special features was offset by the promotion Packard expected from touring the cars across America.

One of the cars designers, Alexis de Sakhnoffsky, was particularly proud of a feature he called the false hood that extended the perception of length. What he was referring to was the design of the front cowl which matched the hood and even continued its louvers and belt line.

Only four Sport Coupes were made and each was unique in detail. Three of them are accounted for today. In recent times both Gooding & Company and the Blackhawk Exposition have offered an example, while the most striking of the lot, chassis 78315, won its owner, Judge Joseph Cassini, top prize at the Greenwich Concours.

Story by Richard Owen for Supercars.net