1934 Packard Twelve LeBaron Runabout Speedster takes Governor’s Cup at 2017 The Elegance

1934 Packard Twelve LeBaron Runabout Speedster, Governor’s Cup winner at the 2017 The Elegance at Hershey. Photos by Bryan McCarthy and Bearded Mug Media.

Built from 1933 to 1939, the Packard Twelve has a long-standing reputation as one of America’s finest automobiles. Among Packard Twelve models, perhaps none is more revered than the Model 1106 LeBaron Runabout Speedster, of which just four examples were ever produced. On Sunday, June 11, a 1934 Packard Twelve LeBaron Runabout Speedster, part of the The Bahre Collection since the late 1970s, captured The Governor’s Cup – equivalent to Best of Show – at The Elegance in Hershey, Pennsylvania.

Call it a halo car or a factory hot rod, since both terms apply to the Model 1106 LeBaron Runabout Speedster. Priced from $7,746, the sleek boattail convertible was the most expensive automobile in Packard’s 1934 product line, selling for more than the average new home ($5,970), or roughly five times the average American annual wage. Built upon the 135-inch wheelbase of the Packard Super Eight, the 1106 was powered by the brand’s 445-cu.in. L-head V-12, rated at 160 horsepower and mated to a three-speed manual transmission with synchromesh gears.

As impressive as its performance may have been, the LeBaron Runabout Speedster was equally about style. From its raked-vee windshield to its pontoon fenders (skirted in the rear) and impossibly long hood – visually longer thanks to the vents carried over to the cowl – the Packard looked like nothing else on the road. To keep the lines of the car unblemished, the top stowed beneath a metal body panel when not in use. Despite the attention to detail shown by the factory, most owners requested a further degree of customization, meaning that no two Model 1106 Speedsters (and all four still exist today) are identical.

The Bahre’s Speedster was reportedly purchased new by Carol Lombard for Clark Gable, the car’s original owner. Custom touches added by Gable (and reportedly carried out by Bohman & Schwartz) include a chopped windshield and oval step plates for driver and passenger, which replaced the standard running boards found on the remaining Speedsters. The second-to-last example constructed by Packard, the ex-Gable car also sports full wheel covers (over wire wheels) and a rear-mounted spare tire.

1929 Duesenberg J/SJ Convertible Coupe by Bohman & Schwartz, the Founder’s Award winner.

Following Gable’s ownership, the Packard passed through a series of collections before being acquired by Gene Zimmerman, who proudly displayed the Speedster in his “Automobilarama,” located in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. In 1978, Zimmerman closed the museum and moved to Florida, and the Packard was purchased by Bob Bahre for his own collection, where it’s remained since.

1929 Cord L29, the People’s Choice Award winner.

Other Award winners of note at this year’s The Elegance at Hershey included a 1929 Duesenberg J/SJ Convertible Coupe by Bohman & Schwartz, owned by Harry Yeaggy and John Carefoot, which earned The Founder’s Award, and a 1929 Cord L29 Cabriolet, owned by Mr. and Mrs. Robert Jepson Jr., which captured the People’s Choice Award.

For complete results and additional images, visit TheEleganceAtHershey.com.