In 1952 Packard’s Director of Styling Edward Macauley and chief engineer, Bill Graves, were searching for Packard’s new design direction and they came up with this Special Speedster.

Built on a 1951 Packard 200 Deluxe Sedan platform, they reduced the cockpit area and lengthened the rear deck to make a dramatic speedster. To enhance the theme, they added huge sill plates which ran the length of the car.

The Mitchell-Bentley Corporation fabricated the body from fiberglass which was designed by Dick Teague. It was also the first Packard to use a wrap-around front windshield which would reach production by 1955.

Numerous design details are unique to the Special Speedster and many of the elements, such as the hood and wheel wells which were used on the later Packard Caribbean.

It was also the first Packard to use a wrap-around front windshield

Macauley retained the car for his personal collection and that’s why it is often called the Macauley Speedster.

To further the car’s performance pedigree, a McCulloch supercharger was fitted to the 359 cubic-inch Packard inline eight.

Over the years, Macauley’s speedster was fitted with many Chrysler pieces and eventually discovered. It has since been refitted with an original engine and supercharger.