Packard Forum Index » Modification Discussion

Mr. V8:

Refresh my memory ... which year or years did Packard compete in LeMans? I guess Alfa Romeos ran straight 8s in the 1930s; but I wasn't aware that Packard had a racing team in France. It has always been my opinion that the company maintained its primary focus on early drag racing ...

I didn't know that Packard ever officially backed racing I have seen some pan am race cars from the 50s but they were private ventures. If Packard did back a race team it was most likely in the early days. If any one has info or pictures of a Packard race car I would love to see them.

I didn't know that Packard ever officially backed racing

Well, "ever" encompasses a long time. As a business venture Packard participated in some performance races very early in their business life to help establish the brand and it's reliability. The New York to Boston time trials come to mind with George Weiss driving a Model F in 1902 for the Ohio Automobile Co., at the time Mr. Weiss was a major stockholder in the company and I believe he was also a Vice President. I believe there were 5 Packards in the event, two of which won medals. You can read about them and other early factory sponsored trials in either the Kimes-edited or Terry Martin books.

I know that a lot of manufacturers did reliability and endurance trials in the dry lakes and salt flats in the teens and twenty's Hudson being one of them, often times they were using "specials" or modified bodies boat tail speedsters ect. Is anyone aware of Packard doing something similar?

Packard did engage in racing in its early days. One of its first was a race against a Winton that left San Francisco on the first transcontinental drive to New York. The Winton won.

A few years later, Packard brought out its Grey Wolf racer.

Here are some other racing Packards.

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Here's what I found out about the Grey Wolf:

"The Packard Grey Wolf is one of the most famous cars of early racing history. In 1901, the Packard brothers went to Europe in search of an engineer to design their first four-cylinder automobile. Charles Schmidt agreed to accompany them if he was allowed to build a race car to demonstrate the performance of the new Packard Model K. Only one example was built, at a cost of $10,000, and in January of 1904, Mr. Schmidt set two land speed records at Ormond Beach, FL, in the Grey Wolf. The original car won several other races, was wrecked several times. This example is a recreation of the Grey Wolf, from the original Packard plans. Every part was made exactly per the blueprints, 100 years later. The car returned to Ormond Beach in 2004 to re-enact the land speed record attempt.

"During the very early 1900s, racers took to the beaches to set time and speed records, along with an assortment of racing. Daytona Beach was a popular favorite, with many important milestones achieved on its smooth, hard sand. The Packard Motor Company got in on the action with their Gray Wolf racing special.

"The car fell in the medium weight limit category which had a limit of 1430 pounds. The car was shipped to Daytona from Ohio in a crate, which tragically got lost. It was later found in Tennessee. When it arrived at Daytona, it was joined by many other interesting types of vehicles. Many were in the shape of bullets or cigars; some were nothing more than a seat attached to a stiff frame with an engine mounted in the front. The Gray Wolf was a wedge-shaped vehicle that had a pointy front and rear end and bulged slightly in the middle to accommodate the driver.

"The car had 24 horsepower, a two-speed transmission, pressed-steel frame, and tires that measured 34x3.5-inches. The total package weighed a mere 1,310 pounds.

"The Gray Wolf showed little difficulty in displacing the Winton Special's five-mile record. A second run was attempted a short time later, on January 3rd. There was a strong breeze, suitable temperature, and well groomed sand which offered ideal conditions to shatter its prior record. It traversed the five-mile course in just 4:26.1 minutes."

Source: By Daniel Vaughan | Mar 2008 ConceptcarZ

Thanks for the pics those care are amazing where is the Grey Wolf now?

I love the early racing history. Those cars were amazing in both style and performance for the time period and would be quite scary to drive today. Thanks for sharing the info.

I believe the photo of the Miller Packard racer is of GM's Packard Cable, not the Packard Motor Car Co. Still a beautiful racer.

(o{}o)

"Packard Cable Spl" can be seen on the side of the racer.

Packard 1984:

The Grey Wolf now resides at the National Packard Museum in Dayton, Ohio.

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