1931 Packard Model 833 Standard Eight Coupé

• Premier American make
• AACA First Place Senior car and a CCCA Full Classic
• Purchased from the Ruozzi Brothers Collection in 2014
• UK VAT and duty paid

Always built to the highest standards, the Packard was unquestionably one of the finest American cars of the pre-war era. Dissatisfaction with his Winton motor carriage is said to have spurred James Ward Packard to build a superior automobile. Aided by his brother and two defectors from the Winton company, Packard set up shop in his electrical engineering factory in Warren, Ohio from which the first Packard - the single-cylinder Model A runabout - emerged in November 1899. The Packard's innovative engineering and superior build quality were soon attracting the attention of wealthy clients, William D Rockefeller purchasing two at the New York Automobile Show in November 1900. 'Ask The Man Who Owns One,' was adopted as the company's advertising slogan.
Cars powered by two-, four- and six-cylinder engines quickly followed, before Packard became the first manufacturer to introduce a series production V12 with the launch of the Twin Six for 1916. An immense success for the company, the Twin Six lasted until the arrival of the new-for-'24 Packard Single Eight, the company's first car to employ four-wheel brakes. The nine-bearing sidevalve straight-eight engine developed 85bhp from 357.8ci (5.9 litres) and the line-up initially comprised ten models on two wheelbase lengths. With the introduction of custom models in 1926 the Eight range increased dramatically. 'Original Creations by Master Designers' according to Packard, the custom offerings were bodied by Derham, Dietrich, Fleetwood, Holbrook, and Judkins among others.
Bijur chassis lubrication and hypoid final drive gears had arrived on the Eight by 1927, at which time the engine was enlarged to 6.3 litres. By now maximum power had risen to 105bhp, an output sufficient to propel the far from lightweight Eight to a top speed of 80mph. 1929 saw Packard building eight-cylinder cars only, and marked the introduction chrome-plated brightwork, parabolic headlamps, and a dashboard-mounted water temperature gauge in place of the preceding Motometer. Also new was the base-model 319.2ci (5.2-litre) Standard Eight, the larger engine continuing to power the Custom and DeLuxe Eights. Maximum power of the Standard Eight was raised to 100bhp for 1931 and there were various other improvements to the specification.
Purchased in 2014 from the Ruozzi Brothers Collection of Breinigsville, Pennsylvania, this magnificent Packard Eight had been restored to the highest standards and is a AACA First Place Senior car and CCCA Full Classic. Accompanying documentation includes a Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Certificate of Title; hand-written maintenance log for the period 1999-2012; shipping/importation paperwork; and an HMRC letter confirming UK VAT and duty paid.