Launched in 1907, the Packard Model 30 replaced the Model S, and its increased engine displacement and larger valves allowed for an exhilarating top speed of over 60 mph. The Model 30 featured aluminum-paneled coachwork, French-made engine castings, precision machine work throughout and is generally considered the ultimate iteration of the four-cylinder early touring Packard.

This extraordinary Model 30 was purchased new by Charles Page of San Francisco, who shipped it to Europe in 1909 so that he could spend three months touring the continent with his family. Before returning to the US, Page left the Packard with his son, Stanley, who was soon joined for another adventure by two of his university classmates and they continued to tour the Model 30. Their journey is documented in Volume 24, Number 2 of Automobile Quarterly and copies of incredible archival photos remain on file. Documented in fantastic detail, the adventure included magnificent vistas, good meals, the avoidance of customs and cholera, and the constant search for gasoline, all without speaking a word of Russian. The three men journeyed from Hamburg, Germany, through Switzerland, and into Russia, with a primary destination of St. Petersburg (then Petrograd), eventually making it all the way to Moscow. A recurring and serious problem was the reaction of Russian horses to their automobile, leading to multiple incidents where horses bolted, causing wagons to overturn, nearly resulting in the travelers being mobbed by angry peasants.

When the Packard returned to the US, the Page family continued to take it on further adventures, and a copy of a newspaper article on file from 1914 documents the Page’s harrowing journey over the Blood’s Pass in California, which was, at the time, the second highest road in the Sierra Nevada range at an elevation 8,700 feet.

A testament to his love for the automobile, Charles Page retained the Packard until his passing. Eventually, Page’s widow sold the Model 30 – which was a bare chassis at that time – to collector Paul Ridley, and it was subsequently fitted with a body from a Model 18. In about 1980, Ridley sold the car to noted collector Marshall Matthews, who eventually sold it to another Brass Era enthusiast, Carl J. Schmitt, who had the transaxle replaced with another Packard unit in 2002. Schmitt’s collection was sold by Gooding & Company in 2008, and Stan Lucas acquired this historic Model 30 from that auction. This gorgeous, well-traveled Packard remains a fascinating example of one of America’s finest early touring cars.