One of the most storied cars in Packard history is the Speedster (626) Eight, built in 1929 (Sixth Series) and 1930 (Seventh Series) only. Patterned after a boat-tailed roadster built in 1928 by chief engineer Jesse Vincent, it was an early form of musclecar, with the powerful Custom Eight engine fitted to the shorter and lighter Standard Eight chassis. A production version was introduced in February 1929, first as a rumbleseat roadster (like this car), later including a four-passenger phaeton and a sedan. Speedster Eights sold for $5,000, about twice the price of a Standard Eight, and only 70 are reported to have been built in 1929, with only an additional 113 Speedster Eights produced in 1930. These are extremely rare, and few are reported to be known in existence. In fact, the highly-respected Standard Catalog of American Cars 1805-1941 by Beverly Rae Kimes and Henry Austin Clark Jr., in their 1996 third edition it states “Production was limited to 70 cars of which only one has been confirmed as extant today.”

The standard 640 Custom Eight roadster body was shortened by 14 inches to properly fit the smaller wheelbase of 126-1/2 inches. The golf club door was eliminated with the popular rumbleseat being retained. From the Kimes/Clark Jr. book, it is further presented that the Speedsters were much more than combining the 384.4-cid, 130-hp straight eight-cylinder engine with the shorter chassis. They had a four-speed manual transmission, high-lift camshaft, high compression head, metric plugs and a high-speed vacuum pump, amid other fine tuning, including a muffler cutout.

This particular example has been with the same caring owner for the past 20 years and he reports it was originally delivered by the Carlye Nibley Packard dealership of Long Beach, California. The car received a professional restoration that began in 2008 and was completed in an outstanding manner in 2012. The paint is Crimson Red with a black Stayfast Haartz canvas top (with similar spec side curtains) and tan interior in Connolly leather. The restoration was executed in a frame-up fashion and is documented with photographs. Only test miles have been driven since the car was completed and its quality is evidenced by being on the lawn of Pebble Beach in 2013.

Among the other details are wire wheels which are painted in matching red with polished stainless spokes, wide whitewall tires, rear-mounted spare with black cloth cover and lock, radiator mascot, full instrumentation with in-dash clock, tilt-out windshield and rumbleseat step plate. A 1929 Speedster Eight is reported to be on display at the acclaimed Henry Ford Museum and also highlighted in the book titled "Packard: The Pride" from the Automobile Quarterly Magnificent Marques series. This performance Packard is special in many ways and will be a point of conversation no matter the venue of display. Of course, it is also recognized as a Full Classic by the esteemed Classic Car Club of America.