Twin Six Runabout

          1915 was a dark year with the world embroiled in the War to End All Wars. Most people weren't thinking about the finer things in life. Most, but not all. In fact in the USA there were a large number of high end luxury brands that were, despite the war, continuing to thrive.
          One such automotive marque was Packard. One of the three "P"s of American motor royalty (along with Peerless and Piecre-Arrow), Packard had been perceived, and rightly so, as one of the country's finest automobiles since its inception.
          But in 1915 something happened that not only set Packard ahead of the rest but also, eventually, led to victory in World War I.

          Jessie Vincent was a Packard engineer who took on the challenge that was raging among the luxury brands at the time of creating larger and more powerful engines. Cadillac had been the instigator and had upped the ante from large straight six engines to a massive eight cylinder behemoth used to propel their cars around.
          Vincent thought that if eight cylinders was good, 12 would be better. At the time Packard was using their own highly efficient straight six and Vincent designed a way to essentially use two of those in tandem. Though he called it a Twin-Six it was the first production V-12 automobile engine. And placed aboard the Packard 125" chassis created what was considered the first "gentleman's sports car" in America, a machine capable of reaching 75 miles per hour.

          There's more to the story of this engine, though. Because the war was still raging in Europe, Packard, like most US firms, put some of their effort toward developing tools for the American soldiers in their efforts. In Packard's case, they used Vincent's Twin-Six as a basis for their Liberty Aircraft engine.

          The Liberty was so well made, so efficient, so much faster and more nimble than anything else out there that ranking members of the Army Air Corp wanted it to be the standard for all US aircraft. Unfortunately Packard didn't have the facilities to make enough of them. And because of natural rivalries, the plants that could help such as Lincoln and Buick wouldn't not aid in manufacturing an engine stamped with the Packard brand. So what Packard did was cede the design of the engine to the Army so that enough could be made to give the USA air superiority and ultimately victory in the war.
          All of this, of course, only enhanced the reputation of Vincent's Twin-Six engine. Soon, people were ordering them up as quickly as they could. At least those people who could afford them.

          One such person was a tall Texas oilman who ordered a Twin-Six mounted not on the traditional 125" chassis but on Packard's longer 135" model. He then, as was common during the time, contracted with another company to design the coachwork. In this case it was the Leon Rubay Body Company out of Cleveland. The result is this stunning one off Twin-Six Roadster that new cost over $6000. Today it is on display at the Citizen's Motor Car Company in Dayton, OH.