This Rare and Quirky 1958 Packard Hardtop Marked the End of an Era

Packard was actually dead long before the corporation pulled the name off the market. Unable to secure funding for retooling, Packard began using Studebaker platforms and body designs in the summer of 1956. The final Packard-design vehicle, a Patrician, rolled off the assembly line in June 1956.

The 1957 lineup included only the Clipper nameplate. Packard offer a four-door sedan (Town Sedan) and a station wagon (Country Sedan). The Clipper was based on the Studebaker President and featured styling elements from 1956 Packards. Power was provided by a Studebaker-sourced 289-cubic-inch (4.7-liter) V8 topped by a McCulloch supercharger (275 horsepower).

Called a "Packardbaker" by critics and lacking the exclusivity of previous models, the 1957 Clipper found only 4,809 customers. For reference, Packard had delivered 28,835 cars in 1956.

1958 saw the line expand to four models, but the Clipper name disappeared. Packard now offered the Hawk, based on the Studebaker Golden Hawk, and three models without a specific nameplate. The lineup included a four-door sedan, a two-door hardtop, and a station wagon.

The cars were redesigned to include quad headlamps by gluing fiberglass caps on the standard fenders. They were also fitted with a "fishmouth" grille to further distinguish them from the Studebaker version. To keep up with the tailfin craze without breaking the bank, Packard installed fin extensions on the tops of the existing vertical rear fenders.

While the Hawk version looked somewhat appealing, the regular Packards were quirky, to say the least. Sales plunged to only 2,622 examples and management promptly pulled the plug in July 1958. The two-door hardtop you see here is one of those final Packards produced at the South Bend facility.

Also known as the Sport Coupe, this hardtop is also among the rarest Packards out there. Of the 2,622 units sold in 1958, only 675 were ordered with this body. It's unclear how many survived, but the owner claims he's never seen one. Mr. Paul Friskopp purchased the car in 2024, but he's been a member of the Packard Club for over a decade.

Paul argues that his Packard is not a Concours-ready classic, but the two-door hardtop appears to be in excellent condition. The red paint still shines, while the interior features a correct tri-tone layout. The two-barrel 289 V8 is also true to 1958 specifications, though there's no info on whether the numbers match.

The rarely-seen Packard found its way on the Interwebz thanks to classic car enthusiast Lou Costabile. Our host and the owner discuss the vehicle's quirky design and show how Packard basically redesigned its lineup by slapping fiberglass bits front and rear.

And while the owner argues that he hadn't seen a 1958 two-door hardtop until he bought this one, the Packard is not exactly a unicorn. A four-door version is for sale on Hemmings as we speak and two more sedans popped up for sale in 2024. Three more examples were auctioned off in 2022, according to classic.com, with a super rare wagon version (one of 159 made) changing hands for $18,575.