1941 Packard 180 Darrin Victoria

The year 1941 was significant in the automotive world. Beginning in 1942 all manufacturing for public passenger vehicles ceased due to the United States entering World War Two. Effective February 1942, President Franklin Roosevelt ordered all factories to begin producing war materials including jeeps, tanks and troop transports.

The Designs of Howard Darrin

The 1941 Packard 180 Darrin Victoria shown in this article is a very special car. About 150 Darrins were built with most of them being Convertible Victorias. Legend has it that there were only thirty-five Packard Convertible Victorias built in 1941 and only fifty the year prior.

Aside from the fact that this automobile looks terrific, this vintage car design was the work of Howard “Dutch” Darrin and Tom Hibbard who formed a successful designing partnership in Paris in 1927. This team invented a process in 1929 called Stylentlyte . The process allowed for the forming of extremely thin, light aluminum panels from a Hibbard & Darrin-created aluminum alloy it called Alpax. One of the first cars employing this process was a custom-bodied 1930 Duesenberg J Town Car.

Howard ‘Dutch’ Darrin began designing his radical coachwork known for its chrome frame windshield and cut-down doors. Darrin also designed a new arrow-shaped hood molding which Packard had used several times.

Car Designer to the Celebrities

After Darrin split with Hibbard he moved to Los Angeles and set up shop on Sunset Boulevard. Howard “Dutch” Darrin of began designing his unique coachwork known for its chrome frame windshield and cut-down doors. The coachwork was so snazzy that they were ordered up by Hollywood celebrities such as Clark Gable and Tyrone Power just to name a few. Darrin transformed Packard coupes into stunning Convertible Victorias with their cut-down doors, a low hood line, and a padded dash. It’s estimated that Darrin built fourteen of these in Hollywood up to 1939. Howard “Dutch” Darrin designed coachwork known for its chrome frame windshield and cut-down doors which was adored by many celebrities of the era.  The tale is that Darrin had befriended future studio executive Darryl F. Zanuck years earlier in Paris and when he relocated to Los Angeles in the 1930’s Zanuck was able to introduce him to several top celebrities.

Packard and Howard “Dutch” Darrin

One of his first jobs in America was work on the 1937 Packard. In 1939 Packard had Darrin join the company and soon after there was the car called the 1940 Packard Darrin.

The war wasn’t too far off and during those years Darrin returned to the service as a contract flight instructor. He served the Army Air Corps at flight schools first in Colorado and tn="as3 Le aVege aNevadain.