1938 Packard Darrin Convertible Victoria. Rare Hollywood Darrin x-Sally Rand

Howard "Dutch" Darrin (1897–1982) was an American free-lance automotive stylist born in Cranford, New Jersey.

Darrin had been a US pilot serving in France in the last years of World War I when he met fellow countryman Thomas Hibbard. They were employed after the war as designers by Brewster & Co which they left. Hibbard had helped to establish LeBaron and taking Darrin visited France to supervise construction of some LeBaron bodies in Paris. They then stayed on in Paris and established first their own design practice, then set up their own factory in Paris: Hibbard & Darrin at Puteaux.

Undercapitalised, they were forced to shut down by the financial crisis of 1929 which badly affected their American backer's resources. Hibbard took a design position back home in General Motors. After a second successful partnership in Paris, known as Carrosserie Fernandez et Darrin, Howard Darrin returned home in 1937 and settled in Hollywood.

There Darrin set up shop in Hollywood and designed special automobile bodies on luxury chassis for Hollywood stars. He tried to sell Packard on the idea of Darrin-bodied cars being offered directly by Packard, and finally got his way after parking one of his creations outside the Packard dealers' annual conference. For the 1940 model year, three Darrin bodystyles were available: the closed four-door Sport Sedan, the four-door Convertible Sedan, and the two-door Convertible Victoria. About 100 Packard Darrins were built until 1942, when production of private cars ended because of the war. This was much fewer than planned.

Building even this number of cars would have overstretched Darrin's Hollywood workshops so they were built by American Central Manufacturing - one of the last remnants of the Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg conglomerate - in Connersville ("Little Detroit") Indiana instead. Darrin would travel back and forth between California and Indiana supervising construction. This work was shifted to Sayers & Scovill in Cincinnati (the company became Hess & Eisenhardt in 1942) to let ACM concentrate on building Jeep bodies. Between 59 and 72 Packard Darrins were built in 1940, of which 44 (or 48) were One-Eighties and the remainder One-Twenties. For the 1941 and 1942 model years the four-door Darrins were discontinued, leaving only the Convertible Victoria.

This very rare early Darrin Convertible Victoria is a "Hollywood Darrin".1 of only 6 to 8 cars built in 1938 on the Packard 120 Chassis, the car was delivered new to Actress/Dancer Sally Rand. The car was acquired in 1965 by noted Collector John Bohmer of Minnesota, who had as many as 150 cars at one point. Parts were methodically collected over the next 25 years before the car was restored in the early 90's with assistance and advise of Dutch Darrin himself. the car is equipped with an unusual air horn, and the original jack sent to Mr. Bohmer decades after his purchase by the prior owner. In addition to parts, service and restoration records and inclusion in Mr Bohmer's book "A Man and his Cars: The Ultimate Barn Find Collector"- this early rare and engaging Darrin includes correspondence, a feature article in the AACA Antique Automobile, ,pre-restoration images, a publicity photo autographed by Sally Rand, and other facinating items.