Packard’s Second Series Eight was introduced on 2 February 1925, with production running until August of 1926. In keeping with the Detroit firm’s evolutionary approach, this was essentially a refinement of the Single Eight that had debuted the prior year. The model’s name was simplified to just the “Eight,” but it was still offered in 136- and 143-inch wheelbase lengths, and features like the 85-horsepower, 357.8-cubic-inch inline-eight and four-wheel brakes remained.

Built on the longer 143-inch wheelbase, this unique 243 Eight Touring was delivered new on 15 July 1926 via Park Avenue Packard in New York City to Hamilton Fish Webster, grandson of Hamilton Fish, a onetime New York governor and US senator who served as secretary of state under President Grant. Mr. Webster’s ownership is noted by a small brass plaque affixed below the vehicle identification plate, stating his residence as Pen Craig Cottage, Newport, Rhode Island, USA. Of course, the “cottage” was a sprawling Tudor-style estate overlooking Newport Harbor—the ideal backdrop for a sporting open Packard such as this—and Mr. Webster was exactly the sort of well-connected and genteel individual one would expect to be a Packard client.

Though Packard offered a Seven-Passenger Touring model in its standard catalogue, Mr. Webster was reportedly very tall and enjoyed wearing top hats; therefore, he had his car built to suit his large stature. The Custom Automobile Body Company of New York carried out the work, according to a plate affixed to the car, though little is presently known about this coachbuilder. The bodywork was executed primarily in aluminum, including the cowl, with only the hood and fenders rendered in steel. The design also included dual rear-hinged coach-style doors and a taller windshield frame. There were no roll-up glass side windows, but rear-seat passengers benefitted from a second windshield, giving the car an appearance much like that of the sporting phaetons of the era.

The car is understood to have been restored in the 1970s in its present two-tone light and dark green with black fenders, which is paired with a dark green interior and black top. It subsequently earned its Antique Automobile Club of America National First Place award in 1975 while in the possession of Irvin L. Long of Damascus, Maryland. It was purchased in 1997 by an individual in Jonesboro, Georgia before its later acquisition by Al Wiseman of Tarpon Springs, Florida. The present consignor purchased the car from the Wiseman Collection in 2007 and has continued the preservation of its older restoration, which has aged gently and still remains in presentable condition throughout.

Nearly a century since its production, and half a century since its AACA-awarded restoration, this fascinating, aluminum-bodied Packard remains a unique and imposing coachbuilt interpretation of the dashing open-top Touring body style—the perfect addition to the carriage house of one’s “cottage,” just as it was when new.