For V-12 Packards, a Special Homecoming
to the Packard Proving Grounds

The PPG’s second annual Salon will welcome back 1932–1939 Packard Twin Sixes and Twelves to the very property where many of these cars were tested

By Graham Kozak

In 1932, readers of such publications as The Saturday Evening Post were treated to a full-page, full-color advertisement featuring the new Packard Twin Six. As was the custom in the Classic Era, the ad was heavy on copy and beautifully illustrated: A red Twin Six charges down the Packard Proving Grounds’ test track, high on the banked turn, leading a caravan of cars beneath the stars on an all-night testing stint.

The piece did take certain artistic liberties. Keen observers will note that the Proving Grounds’ Timing Stand, its windows aglow, has been repositioned from the end of the property’s boulevard to one of the test track’s far corners. But its core message, summed up in the ad’s title, “The Step That Only Packard Takes,” still held true: After final assembly but prior to delivery to its first owner, each V-12-powered Packard was put through a 250-mile break-in, testing, and adjustment regimen at the manufacturer’s own state-of-the-art testing facility, located in what was then Utica, Michigan.

“No other American manufacturer goes so far in preparing a motor car for its power,” the ad boasted. “This test is Packard’s alone. It is the final endorsement that the Twin-Six you receive is the finest automobile that men can build and money buy.”

This additional factory break-in period certainly contributed to the complexity and cost of the Twin Six, which debuted in 1932 and was re-named the Twelve for the following model year. In mid-1932, The Twin Six started at $4,150 for a 905 2-4 Passenger Coupe—a kingly sum that only increased when more elaborate body styles were selected. This was over double the price of a basic eight-cylinder Packard, and many multiples of what a more ordinary offering from Ford or Chevrolet might cost. But then, the V-12 Packards were anything but ordinary cars: These were the meticulously engineered, exquisitely crafted flagship offerings of an automaker that prided itself on its engineering and craftsmanship.

These remarkable Packards are invited to return to the Proving Grounds for Calling All Twelves: A Salon Special Showing, to be held May 27–29, 2025. The inaugural Salon, which took place at the Proving Grounds last May, was open only to 1931 Packards (with a special focus on Custom-bodied cars). This year’s Salon is open to all 1932–1939 Twin Sixes and Twelves of all body styles, broadening the events scope while still re-creating the atmosphere of an exclusive mid-1930s salon on the historic property of the Proving Grounds. It is expected to be the largest gathering of solely 12-cylinder Packards to take place at the Proving Grounds since these cars were first built and tested there some nine decades ago.

While luxury competitors may have occasionally offered engines with higher cylinder counts, the Packard V-12’s focus was first and foremost on refinement; this refinement was what Packard typically emphasized in its advertising materials. Even so, performance was never lacking. The engine kept its basic, 67-degree block architecture (with hydraulic valve lifters) throughout its entire run, though displacement was eventually increased from an initial 445.5 cubic inches (7.3 liters) to 473.3 cubic inches (7.75 liters). Output correspondingly increased from 160 horsepower and 322 lb-ft of torque to as much as 180 horsepower and 366 lb-ft of torque by the end of production, if high-compression cylinder heads were employed.

All this from an engine that one can—assuming it is properly tuned—balance a nickel upon when it is running, a neat trick that your author can personally attest to having done on several occasions.

The individual break-in period for Twelve models was understood to have continued through 1936. Perhaps Packard decided it could not afford the extra expense and logistical complexity of running in each car before delivery; just as likely, the motor had proven itself to Packard’s engineers, and the public, making further testing superfluous.

Yet the Twelve, and the Proving Grounds, would remain central to Packard’s reputation and advertising strategy through the end of production in 1939. Another vintage full-color ad, ominously titled “Sacrifice,” prominently featured a 1936 Twelve Seven-Passenger Limousine and, once again, the Timing Tower—though this time, in its rightful place at the end of the Proving Grounds’ boulevard. This Twelve, however, “is one Packard you cannot buy,” the ad explains, because it was “kid-napped” off the Detroit assembly line to be “mercilessly abused, racked, tortured—deliberately destroyed if possible,” all in the interest of improving Packard’s engineering and production standards.

The destruction of such a fine automobile is almost unthinkable to the modern enthusiast, and it was likely no less shocking to the American public, still stinging from the effects of the Great Depression. But it was Packard’s way of making a statement about its cars, from the pinnacle Twelve to the more attainable 120—as well as highlighting the important work taking place at the Proving Grounds, far away in the countryside of Southeast Michigan and out of the eyes of the motoring public.

Packard’s dedication to quality, honed over countless hours of grueling testing at the Proving Grounds, is still appreciated by those enough fortunate to own and drive one of its cars—no matter the number of cylinders underneath its hood. For modern-day caretakers of Twin Sixes and Twelves, however, the Proving Grounds have a special significance: It was the very place where each of the early cars was tested prior to delivery, and the Twelve, much like the Proving Grounds itself, would remain a key piece of Packard’s prestigious brand identity long after V-12 production ceased in 1939.

It is this special connection between the Packard Proving Grounds and the 1932–1939 Twin Sixes and Twelves that we aim to celebrate, and that we invite V-12 Packard owners to experience, in Calling All Twelves: A Salon Special Showing this May 27–29. For more details on this upcoming event, or to register your car, please visit our dedicated information page here.