Packard's first four-cylinder car, the 1903 Model K, was so exclusive that only 34 were built — at $7,300 apiece, it's still the most expensive Packard the company ever made.
Lead trim: Model S / 24 349.9 cu in T-head (5,734 cc, 24 bhp)
Packard Four1903–1912
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Nobody in Burbles has spotted a Packard Four 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.
FactPackard's first four-cylinder car, the 1903 Model K, was so exclusive that only 34 were built — at $7,300 apiece, it's still the most expensive Packard the company ever made.
The Packard Four covers the company's four-cylinder cars, its only automobile from 1903 until 1912, which established Packard as a luxury car maker and was replaced by the 1913 Packard Six. The first four-cylinder car was the 1903 Model K (rear-entrance tonneau or King of Belgium tonneau, only 34 built at US$7,300, with the engine in front of the passenger compartment, a radiator with a grille, a four-speed transmission and a 92 in wheelbase); the 1904 Model L and Model M introduced the sculpted radiator and flat hood; the 1905 Model N added touring sedan, brougham and limousine on a 106 in wheelbase; the 1906 Model S (marketed as the Model 24 for a claimed 24 bhp T-head) had two wheelbases (108 and 119 in). In 1907 model designations changed from letters to engine horsepower (Model Thirty Series U, later UA to UE) and in 1909 the cheaper Model Eighteen (Series NA to NE) was added; the six-cylinder Packard Six replaced both in 1912. Shaft drive from the beginning, a three-speed sliding-gear gearbox at the rear axle and mechanical brakes on the rear wheels only.
Collectors Spotted in the Packard Four Lineage
No member has published a public street spot of the Packard Four yet — the First · Worldwide stamp is wide open.
Trims & Figures
6 published trims in the catalogue. A blank is a figure not recorded, not zero.
| Trim | Years | Engine | Power | Torque | 0–60 | Drive | Gearbox | MSRP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Model Eighteen NA 265.7 cu in T-head (4,354 cc) | 1909–1909 | 4.4 L | — | — | — | RWD | — | — |
| Model Eighteen NB/NC/NE 267.5 cu in T-head (4,384 cc) | 1910–1912 | 4.4 L | — | — | — | RWD | — | — |
| Model K/L/M 241.7 cu in L-head (3,961 cc) | 1903–1904 | 4.0 L | — | — | — | RWD | — | — |
| Model N 265.7 cu in L-head (4,354 cc) | 1905–1905 | 4.4 L | — | — | — | RWD | — | — |
| Model S / 24 349.9 cu in T-head (5,734 cc, 24 bhp) | 1906–1906 | 5.7 L | 24 hp | — | — | RWD | — | — |
| Model Thirty 431.9 cu in T-head (7,078 cc) | 1907–1912 | 7.1 L | — | — | — | RWD | — | — |
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
Rivals
Same body, same money, other badges — tap any card to flip.
Fred Duesenberg, the engineer behind the Model J, died of pneumonia from injuries suffered crashing one of his own cars — a Murphy-bodied SJ convertible.
Duesenberg's slogan for the supercharged SJ was that the only car that could pass one was another Duesenberg - and only with the first owner's consent.
Only two SSJs were built — one for Gary Cooper, one lent to Clark Gable — and the two movie stars used to race each other through the Hollywood Hills in them.
The 1916 Type 53 quietly invented the modern car's cockpit: center-mounted gear lever and handbrake, key-start ignition, and the clutch-brake-throttle pedal order every car still uses today.
Studebaker charged extra for four-wheel hydraulic brakes on the 1926 Special Six, leaving disc wheels and stopping power both as options.
This Duesenberg beat every other production car to the punch: it was the first to put hydraulic brakes on all four wheels, years before the rest of the industry caught up.
Once Packard's new straight-eight arrived in 1924, the once-flagship Six got bumped down market — repositioned to compete with the Buick Master Six and, later, the Chrysler Six.
This Packard Six was the last Packard ever sold under the word "model" — after it, Packard switched to the series-based naming it used for the rest of its history.