American luxury car maker Packard was once revered alongside the likes of Bentley and Rolls-Royce, but since closing their doors in 1958, the marque has fallen into obscurity. One Roy Gullickson attempted a revival in the 1990s, when he bought the Packard naming rights and logo before developing a new Packard Twelve for the 1999 model year, but a lack of funds saw Packard return to dormancy for another quarter century. However, that all changes today because JB Classic & Bespoke of the Netherlands have just revealed this: the Packard Excellence. 

The Dutch coachbuilder and and restoration specialist states they dedicated an awe-inspiring 17,000 hours of work to transform a Bentley Flying Spur into the Packard you see here. This included engineering an entirely bespoke body, complete with the iconic Packard grille, suicide doors, and Goddess of Speed ornament, just like Packards of old. Take one look at the custom-designed headlights or stainless steel trim and you can tell that cutting corners was not in JB Classic & Bespoke’s vocabulary. 

While JB Classic & Bespoke were responsible for the Excellence’s construction, the design and engineering were entrusted to dutch firm Cinovara Design, who took further design inspiration from another previous failed attempt to revive Packard by selling a rebadged version of the Facel Vega Excellence French luxury saloon in the United States. They have done a commendable job on bestowing the Excellence with an entirely unique character and road presence, but it must be said the veil between Packard and Bentley is at its thinnest at the rear three-quarter view, where the Flying Spur’s squared-off haunches can easily be recognised. While we certainly wouldn’t have predicted this unique coachbuilt Packard Excellence at the start of the year, we wouldn’t mind seeing JB Classic & Bespoke produce a few more examples of this reborn Packard. 

Photos by Jerome Wassenaar