CLASSIC PACKARD LEADS SHANNONS SPRING AUCTION

Shannons’ Spring Timed Online Auction this past 8 to 15 November saw total sales of almost $13 million across the 206 lots on offer, made up of cars, motorcycles, collectables and heritage number plates.

As has been the case with many of these auctions in the past, the heritage plates were the top sellers overall, but the #1 car from the November auction was a pre-war classic in the form of a 1934 Packard Twelve 1107 with a factory-option Victoria convertible body by Dietrich.

Previously owned by Robert Holmes a Court, the Packard came to auction from the collection of the late Fred Matatko that comprised 14 cars and included other interwar classics from the likes of Cadillac, Nash, Oldsmobile, Franklin and Chrysler.

Tatras from Matatko’s birthplace of Czechoslovakia, a WWII-era Chevrolet ‘Blitz’ truck and a rare pre-war Citroen Traction Avant coupe were also consigned, but the Packard was easily the jewel in Matatko’s crown.

While the ‘Twelve’ referred to a 445.5 cubic inch V12 producing 160hp (119kW), the ‘1107’ designation referred to the car's 142-inch wheelbase, which was the middle of three wheelbase lengths available on V12-engined Packards in 1934.

The sleek, four-seater Victoria convertible body was one of several styles that had been produced for Packard by Dietrich since 1931, but was only catalogued on ‘1108’ Twelves with the longer 147-inch wheelbase in 1934, making its appearance on this 1107 unusual.

Across three wheelbase options and 24 available body styles, only 960 Packard Twelves were built in 1934, with the 1107 in the Shannons auction believed to be one of just ten survivors worldwide with the Victoria convertible body.

Described as one of the most significant pre-war cars in Australia, the Packard sold for $330,500, which was just short of its pre-auction low estimate, but easily trumped the next best seller, a low kilometre 1989 Ferrari Testarossa that brought $216,000