The Ninth, Tenth, and Eleventh Series Packards of 1932 to 1934 are especially revered among classic car enthusiasts for their elegant designs featuring the new V-shaped vertical radiator shell, flowing fender lines, and a wide selection of coachwork in the most popular body styles. Coupled with Packard’s proven quality, engineering, and driving dynamics, these were among the best-built automobiles ever to be offered to the public at the time. At considerable extra cost, the Individual Custom line was available to customers who desired something more, and the creations by Dietrich Inc. in this period are simply beyond compare.

Instantly discernable by their raked, V-shaped, dual-pane windscreens, the Dietrich bodies were a marvel of design and execution. The soft curves of the coach lines, emphasized by the elegant sweep from the doors across the cowl, display Dietrich’s mastery of design. Few were built, and far fewer survive today.

The Series 904 Individual Custom Convertible Victoria offered here is one such survivor, as one of four built in Dietrich’s style 2072 on the 904 Deluxe Eight chassis. Numbered as vehicle 904-21, and also retaining its Dietrich body tag, the owner’s notes indicate that the car was first delivered to the East Coast. In 1948, the Victoria was purchased by Melbourne Brindle, famed artist and author of the well-known volume Twenty Silver Ghosts. Mr. Brindle was a fixture in the classic car world at the time, and renowned for his automotive-themed paintings and artwork used in popular advertisements. A photo, likely dating from Mr. Brindle’s ownership, shows the Dietrich, still displaying an early Connecticut license plate, painted in a dramatic, dark color, fitted with a cormorant mascot and a pair of exotic Carl Zeiss headlamps.

In 1981, the Packard passed via an interim owner to collector Ike Brigham of Indianapolis. Mr. Brigham soon retained restorer Steven Gunder of Topeka, Kansas to perform a thorough restoration on the car, finishing it in a striking shade of red, with matching steel side mount covers, and accented by a beautifully trimmed tan leather interior and a matching canvas top. Its six wire wheels were chromed and shod with whitewall tires. Upon completion the following year, the Packard achieved, among numerous CCCA 99- and 100-point scores, First in Class at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance® and was a contender for Best of Show. In the years following the restoration, the Victoria was returned to Gunder’s shop for maintenance, adjustments, and the fitting of a more desirable final drive ratio.

The consignors, Gene and Sally Perkins, are respected long-standing members of the CCCA and have been well known for their amazing private collection of Packards. Fellow Hoosiers, and longtime friends of Mr. Brigham, the Perkins had admired the elegant red Dietrich for many years and endeavored to purchase the car. Though deals were discussed on numerous occasions, an agreement was never reached. Following Mr. Brigham’s passing in 2014, they were finally able to acquire the prized Packard from their friend’s estate. The Convertible Victoria has since been consistently maintained as the prize-winning example that it is. Having won its First Primary and First Senior CCCA awards in the early 1980s, in 2018, the Perkins’ entered the Packard for judging at one more Midwestern CCCA event, and the car earned its coveted First Premier Award, a testament to the enduring quality of its 1982 restoration.

This outstanding Individual Custom Packard will undoubtedly be a centerpiece in any collection it joins, and is also sure to provide countless fond memories on the tour routes and concours fields of the future. Ray Dietrich would certainly be pleased that the artistic creations of his eponymous company are still held in such high regard, and this gleaming Convertible Victoria is a more than worthy ambassador of his legacy.

*Please note that this vehicle is titled by its embossed firewall number, which is I60574.