It’s hard to believe that when talking about automotive history we can say something happened 124 years ago. The innovation and creativity that was crucial to developing the vehicles we love today is a century and a quarter old. There are surprisingly a lot of important events that have happened in the automotive and motorsports world historically on October 30, however today we’re going to look at one: the debut of the first Packard engine.
Packard Motor Company began producing its first automobiles in 1899 and was well known for its high quality, luxury offerings before World War II. They had some great firsts among the automotive industry: the modern steering wheel and the first air-conditioned car. But all of that began with their first engine. The Packard brothers didn’t create this from scratch, however they took a Winton automobile with technical issues and used that as the base to build their own engine. With a whopping 7.1 horsepower, only five Model As were created and only one was sold.
If you’re looking for your own Packard, be sure to check out the listings on ClassicCars.com, where the earliest model you’ll find is a 1917 Packard Twin Six.
For more on the history of Packard, you can see their training films from 12mm strip film, thanks to technology, in the video below.
