Packard enjoyed an international reputation that, with the possible exception of Rolls-Royce, few automakers have enjoyed before or since.

Not only the height of superbly engineered elegance in America, it held the same prestige in other nations; wherever one traveled, the wealthiest person there likely owned a Packard.

It was often fitted with attractive custom coachwork by a local shop.

Indeed, some of the finest European coachbuilders of the Classic Era created for Packards, and thanks to the supreme length of these chassis, the result was often strikingly beautiful.

No exception is the car offered here, a 145 1/2-inch-wheelbase 745 Deluxe Eight that is one of the few surviving works of the Parisian coachbuilder Maurice Proux.

Like his American counterparts at Waterhouse, Proux ran a small shop and for only a few years, 1928 to 1932, but enjoyed tremendous success within that short period for the finely tailored, conservative trim of his work.

Proux bodies were devoid of extra...