While walking our dog through downtown Redmond, Washington, I stumbled upon an absolutely breathtaking sight: a pristine Packard Twelve in what appeared to be concours-quality condition. This automotive masterpiece was parked directly in front of Prime Steakhouse—a fitting location for such an elegant and prestigious automobile.
The Packard Twelve represents the pinnacle of American luxury from the 1930s, when Packard competed directly with Rolls-Royce and other European marques. These magnificent machines were handcrafted for discerning buyers who demanded the finest in automotive engineering and craftsmanship.
Given the timing and location, this stunning example likely made an appearance at Exotics at Redmond Town Center, the popular weekly car show held every Saturday from April through September. The event regularly draws exceptional vehicles from across the Pacific Northwest, making downtown Redmond a weekend destination for automotive enthusiasts.
The irony isn’t lost on me that in the 1930s, when this Packard Twelve was new, Redmond was truly a cow town—mostly farming and rural countryside. Today, it serves as the global headquarters for Microsoft, with over 50,000 employees working at the Redmond campus. This transformation has brought an incredible concentration of wealth and automotive enthusiasm to the area.
The Packard Twelve was a range of V12-engined luxury automobiles built by the Packard Motor Car Company in Detroit, Michigan. There was an earlier V12, called the Packard Twin Six, built from 1916 to 1923. An all-new Twin Six arrived in 1932 and was renamed Packard Twelve from 1933 to 1939. As a sign of changing times, the majority of second-generation Packard Twelves received standard factory bodywork, since true custom coachwork had gradually been losing favor.
The 1930s Packard Twelve was a high-end luxury automobile known for its powerful 473-cid (7.8L) V12 engine and elegant design. It was offered in various body styles, including roadsters, convertible sedans, and Convertible Victorias, and often featured coachwork by renowned firms such as Dietrich. These cars were among the most opulent and expensive of their time, representing the pinnacle of Packard’s offerings. By the ’30s, many of the customs were really “semi-customs,” with Dietrich or Murray assembling Packard-made bodies with special touches.
This one appears to be a Fifteenth Series (1937) model, which is identifiable by its front-hinged doors. (Earlier Packard Twelves had suicide doors.) The Fifteenth Series was the first time the senior Packards got hydraulic brakes, steel disc wheels, and independent front suspension.
Packard called this body style a “coupe-roadster”: There is a folding rumble seat behind the folding top for two occasional passengers, with a small step on the rear fender to help passengers climb in. The coupe-roadster rode the shorter of the two Packard Twelve chassis (called 1507 in the catalogue), with a 139-inch wheelbase. This car’s dual side mount spare tires with small rear-view mirrors were optional equipment.
In 1937, a Packard Twelve coupe-roadster had a starting price of $3,450. According to Classic.com, the average selling price today of a 1930s Packard Twelve is over $342,000.
Packard did not build many of these V12 cars (only 1,300 in the Fifteenth Series), but many went to famous owners. 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.
Closer to home, Jack Warner (of Warner Bros. Pictures) gave Bette Davis a 1937 Packard Twelve convertible sedan for winning an Academy Award for Best Actress for the film Jezebel. An outstanding machine worthy of such an outstanding legendary actress.
With so many classics and exotics regularly seen around town, from the latest supercars to meticulously restored vintage machines, this particular Packard still managed to stand out as something truly special. Encounters like these remind us why classic car culture thrives in the Seattle area—you never know when you’ll spot a piece of automotive history parked on an ordinary street corner, transforming a simple dog walk into a memorable moment for any car lover.
Further Reading
The Packard Twelve and Twin Six (at Ate Up With Motor)
Curbside Classic? Well, with this parking, it’s only a short walk to the curb from the passenger side (thankyou, Woody Allen), so, yes.
What an outrageous thing to find just sittin’ there, out for dinner. Just remarkable, and remarkably proportioned too – so many of the glam whoppers of that time can look a bit wonky when made into 139-inch(!!) 2-doors. Not this one. It’s just so.
And just so sweet, as that great profile shot surely shows. Prime indeed.
Nice find, curbside Packards arent unusual in Napier but 12 cylinder roadsters very rarely seen,
a fleet of 6 cylinder Packards are still ferrying tourists around and pass a taxi inspection, not bad for pre WW2 cars, they built a good car.
Well, now I have my trivia night answer for “What did Joseph Stalin and Bette Davis have in common?” 🙂
It’s great to see something like this out on an actual street somewhere and not just in a museum. I’m pretty sure I’ve never seen one that’s not either in a museum gallery or parked on a lawn somewhere (albeit a very very nice lawn). Thanks for posting this find!
Tonight is our regular weekly trivia night at a local Redmond pub. I’ll surely ask that question to my teammates!
Nice photos and write-up of perhaps the ultimate refinement of the narrow body/flowing fender/running board industry norm that dated back to the aughts. Largely passé by 1937, one gets the impression that it was Alvan Macauley’s dream of the perfect car. And George Christopher’s nightmare, each one selling at a loss. I favor the reined in Super Eight.
+1
Splendid car, although by 1937 it was looking a bit old fashioned compared to the more advanced streamline-inspired designs like the Zephyr, Airflow and others. But it certainly is a proud standard bearer for the end of the “classic era”.
The 1937 Packard Twelves, even with their technical advancements, were the final generational iterations of the ultimate long wheel-based, high horsepower and torque, handcrafted, cost-be-damned luxury cars that developed in the first decade of the automotive business.
Shortly the rationalization and democratization of the American luxury car based on shared production components would displace the old ethic. Cadillac had taken the first steps for 1936 which would define the future for all luxury car makers, only their Twelve and Sixteen had yet to be cleared away. Their seemingly innocuous Series 60 was the springboard on which their dominance of the volume luxury segment was now in place. Sloan and Dreystadt made the future happen, Packard clung to the past.
Curious to see it sitting there unattended.
This is a lovely car, and finding it parked in a public place and not in am museum or at a show surrounded by other cars makes it all the better.
$3450 was pretty reasonable for a car in this class. A few years earlier, a Marmon Sixteen had been about $5k to start, and a Duesenberg had been closer to $10k. Or maybe Packard was being a little more sensible, and able to keep the price down because of the range of less expensive cars that kept the bills (mostly) paid. It is a testament that they stayed in business during a time that took out a lot of the competition.