Chassis – 83127
Engine – 424 Cubic Inch L-Head V-12 Engine
Transmission – 3-Speed Manual Gearbox
Horsepower – 88 BHP at 2,600 RPM

“Ask the Man Who Owns One”


By the time Packard Motor Car Company introduced the Twin Six in 1916, the firm had already secured a strong reputation as one of America’s most disciplined and engineering-driven luxury manufacturers. Founded in 1899, Packard rose to prominence through an emphasis on mechanical refinement, reliability, and conservative advancement. Its success with large six-cylinder cars in the early 1910s positioned the company at the forefront of a widely oversaturated luxury market — just as expectations for smoothness, quiet operation, and mechanical reserve were increasing among affluent buyers.

Introduced in May 1915 and entering production for the 1916 model year, the Twin Six marked a decisive step in Packard’s development. Designed under the direction of chief engineer Jesse G. Vincent, the new twelve-cylinder engine was conceived as a technological and logical extension of Packard’s engineering evolution. The narrow-angle, 60-degree L-head V-12 displaced 424.1 cubic inches and produced 88 horsepower, delivering power with exceptional smoothness. Compared with contemporary multi-cylinder designs, the Twin Six offered practical advantages in serviceability and balance—including improved access to major components and a relatively short, light crankshaft that contributed to its notably refined operation.

From its introduction through the early 1920s, the Twin Six served as Packard’s flagship, firmly anchoring the marque at the highest echelon of the American luxury market. Engineering principles developed for the Twin Six would later inform Packard’s work on the Liberty V-12 aircraft engine during the First World War.
This particular 1916 Twin Six 1-35 Touring car, bearing matching chassis and engine numbers, survives in remarkably original condition. The car retains its factory-applied paint, leather upholstery, convertible top, side curtains, and interior trim, along with original wiring, gauges, and instruments.

Throughout its life, the car has avoided the comprehensive restorations commonly applied to early luxury automobiles, remaining instead a largely intact example of Packard’s introduction of a twelve-cylinder passenger car. Original materials and mechanical systems survive in situ, preserving manufacturing decisions that are often erased through subsequent restorations. In this condition, the Twin Six serves as a direct material record of Packard’s early V-12 engineering, reflecting Packard’s engineering practice as built in 1916.