Packard dubbed its 1946 lineup the 21st series, and this Custom Super Clipper Eight Limousine was the longest, most luxurious, and most powerful car in the fleet.

Rakish pre-war Clipper styling carried through largely unchanged.

Still, Packard touted refinements to its first post-war models made possible by newfound knowledge from the company's wartime manufacturing efforts.

Packard engines powered allied forces by sea and by air.

The company produced over 13,000 12-cylinder marine engines for fast patrol torpedo, or PT, boats and over 56,000 license-built Rolls Royce Merlins designated the Packard V-1650.

The supercharged V-12 aircraft engines lifted British Spitfire fighters, Lancaster bombers, and perhaps most notably, the North American P-51 Mustang into the skies.

The limousine rode on the 148-inch-wheelbase extended chassis that Packard reserved for its prestige class.

Signature fade-away fenders accentuate sweeping body lines, and the long hood provides abundant space for...