During Packard’s golden era in 1934, the ultimate design statement was the scarce variations designed by Count Alexis de Sakhnoffsky and built by LeBaron. These cars had sensuously rounded pontoon fenders, curved running boards nearly blended into the body, and tapered tails that were groundbreaking for their time. Unlike other designs that gradually adapted streamlined styling, the LeBaron Packards boldly embraced the trend with no straight edges to be found.
The runabout speedster and sport coupe styles were built on a unique twelve-cylinder chassis, the 1106, with a shortened 136-inch-wheelbase frame based on the Standard Eight model. The sport coupe, in particular, had a dramatic fastback roofline that followed Cadillac’s Aerodynamic Coupe show car of 1933 and was as remarkable as the Mercedes-Benz 500 K Autobahnkurier of remarkably similar line. These cars were the height of streamlining on opposite sides of the Atlantic and were as impressive to behold as today’s most advanced supercars.
Source: RM Sotheby’s
