Description
By: Robert J. Neal .
Description
The author was first struck with the idea of producing a work devoted solely to the story of the involvement of Packard built power in the performance of various vehicles when he visited the Hydroplane & Raceboat Museum in Seattle and saw Gar Wood's Miss America VIII. This was indeed an impressive sight-28 feet of beautiful mahogany boat which seemed to be filled to capacity by its two 2500 cubic inch Packard marine engines.
More than four years were required to research, write and gather the illustrations for this book. The result is the first book devoted entirely the subject of Packards in performance.
The first Packard product, an automobile, saw completion in 1899. By 1901 the company was sponsoring cars in various endurance runs and in 1903 they sent Old Pacific on a record setting trip from San Francisco to New York. 1903 also marked the beginning of a rather impressive career for Packard's first race car, the Gray Wolf.
The story of Packard powered land vehicles in competitions of one type or another includes many standard passenger cars and passenger cars modified for racing as well as a number of race cars. They competed in dirt track, board track and Indianapolis 500 racing as well as land speed record and stock car racing.
1906 marked the first brief entry of Packard into marine racing when a Packard marine engine powered the second place boat in the Gold Cup. But for a disallowed protest Sparrow would have been the winner. 1922 was the big year for Packard in the annals of marine racing when Packard Chriscraft won the Gold Cup. From then through 1938 (17 years) one or more boats in every Gold Cup race was Packard powered. During that period Packard powered 11 first and 9 second place boats. After the War the Packard built Merlin put the company name back in the Gold Cup winners circle.
Packard developed its first aero engine in 1916; a 299 cubic inch V12 which never powered an airplane but was used with great success as power for a race car. Three larger aero engines of 905 cubic inches followed but the first to actually power an airplane was the famous Liberty of World War I. These and the Packard aero engines which followed set an enviable series of records for speed and stamina and some are still powering race planes today.
Packard was best known, of course, as a producer of luxury cars and it was that endeavor
