The Packard Twelve was a range of V12-engined luxury automobiles built by the Packard Motor Car Company in Detroit, Michigan. The car was built from model year 1933 until 1939 as a successor to the twelve-cylinder Twin Six. As a sign of changing times, the majority of Packard Twelves received standard bodywork, with custom bodywork gradually losing favor. Many of the custom cars were actually only "semi-customs", with Dietrich assembling Packard-made bodies with special touches.
History
For 1933 Packard updated the 1932 Twin Six and switched its name to "Packard Twelve," to align it with the rest of the Packard lineup. This was the 10th Series and two models were on offer: the 1005 and the 1006 had wheelbases of and. The Twin Six' double drop frame was replaced by a tapered design. Convertibles and roadsters used leftover ninth series bodies with a smaller radiator than the all-new tenth series models. The Twin Six' V12-engine was retained without major change. The cylinder blocks are at a 67 degree angle, bore and stroke respectively. A displacement was the result and maximum power is at 3200 rpm. The cooling system was improved and a new Bendix-Stromberg EE-3 carburetor with an automatic choke was introduced, increasing power somewhat. A single dry-plate clutch replaced the earlier twin-plate model, matched to a floor-shifted three-speed manual transmission and a new one-piece driveshaft. The existing mechanical brakes were also adopted for the Twelve. The shorter wheelbase was available with at least ten different styles of bodywork, ranging from the two-seat Coupe Roadster to the five-seat Formal Sedan. Standard bodyworks for the long wheelbase Model 1006 were Sedan and Sedan Limousine, with a host of custom bodyworks also on offer. These were mainly by Dietrich and LeBaron. The Super Eight long wheelbase chassis was no longer available, restricting custom bodyworks to the new Twelve.
Year-to-year changes
In 1934 the 11th series model was introduced, adding a shorter third version on the chassis of the Super Eight. An "Aero Sport Coupe" bodied in-house and a LeBaron-bodied "Runabout Speedster" were available on this wheelbase; only around ten of these two types were made. The appearance of the dramatic, almond-shaped Aero Sport Coupe was guided by Packard stylist Ed Macauley although the actual design work was done by Count Alexis de Sakhnoffsky in his stint as a consultant at Packard. Only four Sport Coupes were built. This was the last car to be "Custom Made by Packard." The Model codes were 1106, 1107, and 1108. 960 Packard Twelves were built in 1934. This was also the first year that a radio was a factory option. For the 12th Series of 1935, the engine gained aluminum heads and was stroked by a quarter inch, bringing up the displacement to. Power was at 3200 rpm and a high compression version with was also available. The gearbox was now fully synchronized and both the mechanical brakes and the clutch received vacuum assist. The new wheelbases on offer were,, and. The 14th Series of 1936 was largely unchanged from the 12th. The only differences were a radiator angled by five more degrees, the oil temperature regulator was redesigned, and the shortest wheelbase model was discontinued. Model year 1937 brought hydraulic brakes for the 15th Series Twelve; these had already been available for two years on the Packard One Twenty. Suicide doors were changed to conventional, front-hinged ones. With 1300 built, 1937 was the Twelve's most successful year. 1938's 16th Series brought yet shorter wheelbases:,, and. The shortest Model 1606 used the Super Eight chassis but was not included in Packard's brochures and it is unsure if any were built. Only 566 16th Series Twelves were built, followed by 446 17th Series. The fenders were of a heavier design than on previous years' models, while a column shift became and option alongside the center mounted shifter. This shape remained in use for 1939's 17th Series, the last of the Packard Twelves. 5262 examples were built in total. For 1940 Packard's top model was the Packard Super Eight. In October 1935, American President Franklin D. Roosevelt gave Joseph Stalin an armoured Packard Twelve, which became the dictator's favourite automotive vehicle for many years.
