Only 15 Packard “Darrins,” with bodywork bearing the imprint of designer Howard "Dutch" Darrin, were made in the last season of production. The example offered here was the 13th of this brief and glorious run. Darrin historian Don Figone notes that it was first restored in the early 1950s by then-owner Glen Sheppard of Piedmont, California. In Mr. Sheppard’s ownership, it was featured in the September 1953 issue of Road & Track magazine, showing just how special these Packards had already become, scarcely a decade after production ended. The article notes that the car had been restored with the assistance of the Earle C. Anthony Packard dealership in San Francisco in sourcing hard-to-find parts and that the passion project had cost Mr. Sheppard some $6,000—about the same as a new Cadillac limousine in 1953.

Mr. Sheppard eventually sold the car to Wendell Hawkins, actually a dealer of new Packards in Houston, Texas. In the early 1970s it is believed to have passed to a gentleman in Los Angeles, in whose care it was one of the two Packard Darrins used in the filming of the 1970s television detective series Banacek, starring George Peppard. This car was used for the scenes filmed in Hollywood; protagonist Thomas Banacek’s Packard was supposed to be a 1941 model, so this car had the distinctive 1942 side grilles—as well as its red leather interior—disguised in most of its scenes. It was thereafter acquired by the noted Classic enthusiast Gifford Oborne of New Jersey, who considered it one of the gems of his large collection. Later it was part of the renowned collection of legendary Packard enthusiast and connoisseur Ralph Marano.

After Mr. Marano acquired the first 1942 Packard Darrin from Bob Turnquist’s estate, this one was sold on to Art Polacheck of Florida, from whom the late Terence E. Adderley acquired it in 2008. It has since remained on exhibit in the Adderley Collection for the past 16 years, alongside many other significant Full Classics. While the restoration is now older, it is still highly attractive. Importantly, while the full engine number is illegible, it does have the “CE” prefix identifying it as a correct 1942 unit. The car would be a worthy addition to any Packard fleet as one of the best-known, most renowned examples of the exceptionally scarce ’42 “Darrin.”