World War II was – and still is – the single most devastating man-made event in the existence of humanity. But out of the ashes of atrocities and endless suffering rose some of the most outstanding achievements of Man. Space exploration took off where rocket bombs left off; aviation leaped forward at unprecedented speeds; the computer entered the stage – and broke the Nazi cyphering machine, the Enigma.
The American automotive sector thus took the lead as the engine of the country’s economic growth, but this high-gear jump severely injured Packard, a legendary name.
Ironically, in order to transfer production for the war effort in February 1942, all American automakers were compelled to build the Arsenal of Democracy. However, the imagined conflict of the firing brains and arms decisively tipped the scales in favor of the Allies.
Two decades before Ford cracked the whip on its most iconic nameplate – that would be the Mustang – another wild stallion took the world by storm. However, this magnificent machine did not run but flew high in the skies. And it wreaked havoc in its path: the P-51 Mustang was undoubtedly the best fighter plane of the Second World War.
It entered service on the European front in December 1943 with the B and C variants, but the most emblematic was the P-51D – the ‘Bubble Top.’ From March 1944 until the surrender of Germany in May of the following year, the Mustangs claimed 4,950 enemy aircraft kills – more than any U.S. fighter in Europe
The fearsome engine of the gigantic Mustang, a Rolls-Royce Merlin derivative that required considerable technical upgrades, was one of the vehicle’s secrets. Leave it to Packard, the go-to name in American luxury automobiles, to create the V12 1650 aircraft engine, an aviation powerhouse. A number of airplanes and naval warships were powered by more than 50,000 units that were assembled.
That’s an undeniable testament to Packard’s rigorous engineering standards that had made the brand famous for its high-end craftsmanship. But after the war, something happened – and it wasn’t a good change.
Packard developed a new post-war car design over the course of six years, entirely missing the start while Detroit’s heavyweights were introducing new cars in the late 1940s. Packard was America’s oldest automobile manufacturer at the time. The manufacturer overlooked their major clientele in the luxury class in favor of focusing on releasing a model at a mid-range pricing.