1938 Packard 1608 Twelve Landaulet
Doris Duke, heiress to the American Tobacco Company fortune and the world’s wealthiest woman at age 25, commissioned this exceptional automobile as a rolling chassis in 1938.
The prominent socialite, horticulturalist, art collector, and philanthropist specified truly bespoke coachwork from Rollston, New York’s most prestigious and costly coachbuilder of the era.
Rollston crafted a sophisticated landaulet body; a formal limousine configuration with a convertible section over the rear passenger compartment. The design featured a relatively rakish one-piece windshield and drew stylistic inspiration from a Rollston body previously created for Duesenberg Model J chassis J-577.
The interior appointments were lavish, incorporating a rear-compartment clock, passenger speedometer, and dedicated storage for cocktail service. Radio controls were positioned in the right rear armrest for Miss Duke’s convenience.
Beneath the custom bodywork sat Packard’s magnificent 473-cubic-inch (7.7-liter) V12 engine on the 1608 Twelve chassis, representing the marque’s pinnacle of engineering refinement in the late 1930s. The combination of Packard’s mechanical excellence and Rollston’s coachbuilding artistry produced an automobile befitting one of America’s most notable figures.
The car served Doris Duke for transportation between Duke Farms in Hillsborough, New Jersey, and her Newport, Rhode Island, summer estate, Rough Point (both of which are now restored and open to the public). This Packard remains one of very few surviving late-production Packard Twelves with genuine custom coachwork.
Source
