The 1955 Clipper Custom got torsion-bar suspension that no other Packard offered that year — a budget-line car out-engineering its pricier siblings.
Lead trim: Clipper 1953 (0–60 mph in 17.6 s) · up to 225 hp
Packard Clipper1953–1956
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Nobody in Burbles has spotted a Packard Clipper yet. See one on the street, point the app at it, and the first card is yours — with your @handle permanently credited on this page.
FactThe 1955 Clipper Custom got torsion-bar suspension that no other Packard offered that year — a budget-line car out-engineering its pricier siblings.
The Clipper name was reintroduced in 1953 for Packard's lowest-priced lineup (the former 200), in Special and Deluxe trim as two- and four-door sedans; President James Nance hoped to launch it as a stand-alone marque for the mid-range field, but dealers balked and it started as a Packard. A 1953 Clipper went from 0 to 60 mph in 17.6 seconds in a Popular Mechanics test. For 1954 it got its own rear fender trim and taillights and two-tone paint; in 1955 the Clipper Custom offered torsion-bar suspension, a power steering option and an all-new Packard-built V8 of 320 CID, enlarged to 352 CID in 1956 (Series 5540 Deluxe, Super, Super Panama hardtop, and 5560 Custom and Custom Constellation hardtop; 8,039 Deluxe, 14,995 Super and 15,380 Custom for 1955). For 1956 Clipper became a separate make with its own division and a ship's-wheel logo, with the Panama and Constellation hardtops and 18,572 built, but dealers demanded the Packard name and a small "Packard" script was added; the last Detroit-built Packards and Clippers left the Conner Avenue plant on 25 June 1956. The page also lists an Australian CKD assembly around 1955. Length 215 15/32 in.
Collectors Spotted in the Packard Clipper Lineage
No member has published a public street spot of the Packard Clipper yet — the First · Worldwide stamp is wide open.
Trims & Figures
3 published trims in the catalogue. A blank is a figure not recorded, not zero.
| Trim | Years | Engine | Power | Torque | 0–60 | Drive | Gearbox | MSRP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clipper 1953 (0–60 mph in 17.6 s) | 1953–1953 | — | 150 hp | 260 lb-ft | 17.6 s | — | — | — |
| Clipper Custom V8 (320 CID, 1955) | 1955–1955 | V8 | 225 hp | 325 lb-ft | — | — | — | — |
| Clipper V8 (352 CID, 1956) | 1956–1956 | V8 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Owning one
We don’t estimate running costs for a car like this. What it costs depends on its condition, its specialist and how it is driven, and an average would mislead.
Owners’ builds
Nobody has claimed one yet.
Photographs
By 1957 there was no Packard engine left in the Packard Clipper at all — every one left the factory with a supercharged Studebaker V8, part of why the public mockingly called these cars "Packardbakers."
The 1955 Clipper Custom got torsion-bar suspension that no other Packard offered that year — a budget-line car out-engineering its pricier siblings.
Introduced halfway through the model year, the pricier Clipper still notched 16,600 sales in 1941 — nearly matching the full year's 17,100 units of Packard's cheaper One-Twenty.
Rivals
Same body, same money, other badges — tap any card to flip.
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