This Italian-bodied Packard ran in the Mexican Road Race

[Bob Riebe]

Trévoux arranged for a Packard 200 to be shipped to Carrozzeria Rocco Motto in Turin, Italy, where a new body shell was constructed, reportedly in aluminum panels over steel tubing similar to Touring Superleggera style. Considerably lower and slimmer than the Detroit product, the Motto was easily many hundreds of pounds lighter than the production Packard Club Sedan, which tipped the scales at 3650 lbs.



The 327 cubic-inch Packard Thunderbolt straight eight (above) was upfitted with a reground camshaft and four Stromberg carburetors with a sheet-metal fresh-air box. (See our feature on the mighty Packard straight eight here.) The ignition system appears to be a twin-coil setup, but upon closer inspection the second coil is a spare. No power figures appear to be available, but we note for reference that the stock production version for 1953 was rated at 180 hp at 4000 rpm.

Now if I were one of the gents with the thousands of bucks they put into rat-rods, I would find a Packard and reproduce this beauty.

https://www.macsmotorcitygarage.com/this-italian-bodied-packard-ran-in-the-mexican-road-race/#more-85475

[ironglows]

.
  Sadly, but around here, many of those classic Packards were sacrificed shortly after being sent to their rusty rest home.

  Those unmatched, beefy frames made them a best chance for a winner in the old "demolition derbies".

[oldandslow]

My dad owned two Packards. They were very nice automobiles and got as good gas mileage as anything on the road back then.