Four More for the Fleet: The 1942 Packard Clipper

The first of four beautiful vehicles donated by Anne Lewis, this Clipper is a stunner.

PPG benefactor Anne Lewis generously donated four incredible Packards to the PPG in memory of her late husband Elliot Bayly. For the next several weeks, we’ll be honoring her generosity and sharing details of these beautiful vehicles. This week, we’re starting with the oldest among them.

(The oldest of the first set of cars donated, that is. Stay tuned for our post about the beautiful 1937 Packard that Ms. Lewis donated this past July!)

The 1942 Clipper Custom 160 Touring Sedan is kitted out in ruxton brown and doreen yellow. Packard released this style in 1941 as a modern re-imagining of the classic Packard design, and took to the roads alongside traditional Pre-War Packard vehicles. Executives at Packard were concerned that public opinion wouldn’t look favorably on this new design (which seems bizarre to think about now!). Hence, their prudent decision to continue production of their fan favorite designs.

This particular Clipper, however, is particularly rare.

Due to its participation in the war effort, Packard ceased automotive production in February 1942, switching to airplane engine manufacturing and tank testing on the Proving Grounds (read about that in this blog post, as well as this one). Clippers produced during this time were predominately purchased by the United States government and driven by military personnel. Hardly any of these 1942 Clippers were sold to or driven by civilians. Because of that, it’s possible that this car may be one of only two of these Clippers left.

Thanks to Anne Lewis, we’re able to keep this one safe from now on.

Do you have original Packard documents, photographs, publications, or memorabilia that might be of value to the Packard Proving Grounds Library and Archives? Contact the site for information about our collection focus and donation policies.

Many thanks to Dave Dolby for the details shared in this post! All images included here are the capture and property of Rick Mayer.