The Packard Motor Car Company was not necessarily known for sporty cars, yet by the early 1950s was experimenting with the very of-the-moment sports car concept, resulting in the striking Pan American show car of 1952. Alas, with its costly “sectioned” bodywork and lack of a rear seat, the Pan American was dubbed a bit too far afield for the automaker and was not greenlit for full production. It did, however, lead directly to the Packard Caribbean, which used many Pan American styling cues in a more practical package. Each of these “factory custom” cars was built by Mitchell-Bentley of Ionia, Michigan, which gave them a hood with a prominent full-width scoop, a marked lack of side chrome, special flared wheel openings, and Senior-style horizontal taillights. Under the hood was Packard’s legendarily smooth 327-cubic-inch inline eight-cylinder engine, producing 180 horsepower and considerable torque.

The Caribbean’s substantial $5,210 price tag and limited run of just 750 examples for its 1953 debut ensured that it was, and would remain, a highly exclusive automobile.

The Caribbean offered here was formerly part of the vast Michigan stable of Richard and Linda Kughn, the husband-and-wife team of enthusiasts who, over 40 years, enjoyed the passionate collecting of vintage automobiles, with a particular focus on fine Full Classics and 1950s American convertibles. Caribbeans were a particular favorite and the Kughns enjoyed owning several, including this car, over the years. When they first began to thin their collection in 2002, this example was sold to James McLennan of Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. In his ownership it received a full restoration in Gulf Green. Thus completed, the car enjoyed a successful show career, most prominently receiving the James J. Nance Award for the Post-War Best of Show Packard driven in a tour and to the show field during the Packard Club National Meet in 2008.

Acquired from Mr. McLennan by fellow Bloomfield Hills resident Terence E. Adderley, the car has been well-preserved in the Adderley’s halls. Inspection shows that it is powered by a nine-bearing 1953 engine, as used in the Patrician and Executive limousine models, but it otherwise appears quite correct and remains in excellent overall cosmetic condition, requiring only mechanical sorting for its new owner. It is a splendid example of a significant model, which could well be considered one of the last of the “catalogue custom” Packards.