1916 Packard 1-25 Twin Six 7-Passenger Touring

in. L-head V-12 engine, three-speed manual gearbox, solid front axle and live rear axle with semi-elliptical leaf springs, and two-wheel mechanical brakes. Wheelbase: 125 in.

The Packard Motor Car Company was well established as a manufacturer of prestige cars by 1915, its record of owner satisfaction demonstrated by adoption of the slogan, “Ask the Man Who Owns One. ” But its record as a builder of four- and six-cylinder cars was about to change, as a new engine was on the verge of introduction. Called the “Twin Six,” it debuted in May 1915.

A 60-degree V-12, with two blocks of six cylinders set on an aluminum crankcase, it was designed by chief engineer Jesse Vincent, displaced 424 cubic inches, and developed 88 horsepower. Motor Age enthused, “Never before have the principles of high-speed motor design been applied to a touring car engine of so large a size as this new Packard. It needs but little handling to realize that the result is not merely encouraging, but in excess of all possible expectations.

” Enthusiasts generally refer to the first Twin Sixes as 1916 models, although Packard eschewed model years until the 1930s. Offered as the sole engine for the new First Series cars, it was available in two wheelbases, 125 and 135 inches, and a myriad of body styles priced from $3,050 to $5,150. By the time its successors, the 2-25 and 2-35, appeared in August 1916, nearly 8,000 had been built.

It outsold the nearest luxury competitor, Pierce-Arrow, by four-to-one that year, and nearly eight-to-one the next. Variations on the Twin Six were Packard’s only offerings through 1920, when a lighter and less expensive car, variously referred to as the Single Six, Light Six, or Series 116, joined the line in September. Not until 1932 would Packard offer another 12-cylinder car.

Although called “Twin Six,” the new engine was not at all like the original item. Thereafter, the company called it simply “Twelve. ”