Of the catalogued custom body offerings from Packard in 1940 none is rarer than this Darrin Sport Sedan. One of just two produced, and thought to be the only survivor, it is a rare closed creation from designer Howard ‘Dutch’ Darrin, who was better known for the racy convertibles he created for Hollywood playboys. This rare car is a prototype which never went into production. Two similar cars, the model 730, were also produced without reaching production.
The chassis is similar to the Packard 180 with a 138-inch wheelbase, and a 356-cubic inch 160 horsepower engine with a three-speed transmission.
The body designer was the famous Howard ‘Dutch’ Darrin, one of the top automotive designers of the era who was responsible for a wide variety of beautiful cars. He also formed several coach-building firms during the classic era. Among the most famous of his designs are the 1937-1942 Packard Darrins and the 1951-1955 Kaisers.
When the current owner acquired this car he said it looked like it had been ‘dredged up from the Titanic.’ It was in extremely rough shape, partially disassembled and with many parts missing which had to be fabricated from scratch. To compound the difficulty of restoration, since this car was a prototype never intended to be sold to a customer, it had been crudely fabricated in many areas. Restoration required correcting original construction irregularities and defects, particularly with respect to body fit and alignment. Restoration required five years and included an extensive amount of research.
The restoration was completed in 2007 and the car was shown at Pebble Beach that year, it has since won awards at multiple shows across the country.
