Packard does not build many cars like the Packard Eight: a •2-door roadster / •2-door coupé / •2-door convertible Victoria / •4-door sedan / •4-door phaeton / •4-door dual-cowl phaeton & Sport Phaeton / •town car / •landau with 282.1 CID Flathead engine, built from 1924 to 1938 the vintage years, when coachbuilders still shaped most of what was sold.
Where it came from
The Packard Eight was a luxury automobile produced by Packard between 1924 and 1936, returning for one last year in 1938. It was an all new platform that took the top market position from the earlier Packard Twin Six which was first introduced in 1916. When it was introduced, it was designated as the senior Packard. It remained so until the Super Eight and Custom Super Eight were introduced in the 1940s.
Under the skin
Under the skin sits 282.1 CID Flathead engine; other versions carried different engines, listed in the specification table below. The gearbox is a 3-speed Manual transmission. The layout matters: a front engine drives the rear wheels, the classic proportion — long bonnet, cabin set back — that most people picture when they picture a sports saloon or a grand tourer. These are manufacturer figures carried by Wikipedia and Wikidata, not road-test measurements.
In context
Where it sits in Packard's history is not in doubt: the Packard Six came before it; the Packard 120 (1935) / Packard 200 (1951) followed it; it was built at Packard Automotive Plant, Detroit, MI. On a showroom list of its day it stood against the Fiat 509, the Rolls-Royce Silver-Ghost landaulet, the Tatra 13. Nearby in the Packard catalogue sit the Packard 160 and the Packard 180.
The money
MotorJury scores cars on the United States complaint and recall record, and the Packard Eight has none: too old, too rare, or never sold there. Its value today is a collector's question, decided by provenance and condition rather than by a class average.