Vehicle Description
Engine No. CE501612
Howard "Dutch" Darrin was as fascinating as any of the automobiles
he built. He and his fellow expatriate American Thomas Hibbard
relocated as young men to France in the early 1920s, and there
established their own design and coachbuilding firm, Hibbard &
Darrin. Darrin subsequently partnered again to form Fernandez et
Darrin, then in 1937 returned to the United States and settled in
California. Darrin of Paris, as his Hollywood shop was known, soon
began producing customized cars and unique coachwork for the
denizens of the movie colony, often distinguished by the designer's
signature "dip" in a car's beltline aft of the front doors.
Darrin's most famous Hollywood creation was a Packard he built for
Dick Powell, of especially rakish lines. Similar cars went on to be
produced for the likes of Clark Gable and Chester Morris. By the
end of 1939 the "Packard Darrins" had drawn enough attention that
Packard acquired rights to build the design as a limited-production
model, which they did from 1940 through 1942. However, it is the
earliest cars, those customs actually built on the Sunset Strip by
Darrin and thus known as "Hollywood Darrins," that have the
greatest cachet.
The "Hollywood Darrin" offered here was built on the powerful Super
Eight chassis of 1939. Its earliest known owner is recounted by
Darrin historian Don Figone as being a Mrs. Joe Gertner, who may
have been connected to the John Deere farm implements family. It is
next known to have been acquired in the late 1970s by John J.
Thompson of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, reportedly from the brother
of the President of Mexico! Afterward the car is known to have been
owned by Brian Bottini of Marlboro, New York, from whom it was
acquired in October 2004 by the Gateway Automobile Museum. It has
now remained in the collection for nearly nineteen years as one of
the stars of the "Lights, Camera, Automobiles" gallery.
The Packard's older restoration in maroon with straw pinstriping
and tan leather interior has some patina but remains overall very
attractive, in particular the dashboard with its modeled plastic
instrument bezels and beautifully cast steering wheel. Further, the
car exhibits many original features, such as the somewhat roughly
cut nature of the rocker panels and visible gas welds under the
hood, which are distinctive of these early "Darrins" and often
sadly lost during insensitive restorations. The present engine is a
1942 unit, installed later in the car's life. Senior Trippe driving
lights are fitted, as well as correct bumper guards and a Packard
script license plate light. At the time of cataloging, the car had
recorded 49,439 miles.
Now as then, it looks the part of a star's automobile.
