Royale 848 Convertible Sedan Concept Sketches

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HiAs promised quite a while ago, here are three Royale 848 convertible sedan concept sketches. I had to study Dietrich's other convertible sedan designs concurrent to Royale production to stay within his proportions and details. The first simply interprets A.J.'s 848 Dietrich Sport Sedan as a convertible sedan. The main differences are the rear door width is scaled to approximately 80% of the front door width as can be seen on the '31 Packard 845 Dietrich convertible sedan as well as straight window top frames and rear window frame angle set as a reflection of the A-pillar angle. Second concept sketch simply takes the one-off 835 Convertible Victoria design as departure, stretches it to proportion properly on an 848 chassis. The rear deck takes the shape of the Victoria coupe as inspiration.Third is based on the design for the Lincoln KB Twelve Dietrich Sport Berline, Model 240, of which eight were built. What makes this design fascinating is that it is the same as the Packard V-Windshield Dietrich Individual Custom Convertible Sedan except fitted with a flat windshield and close-coupled rear quarters and stationary top. It has the gently swept belt on the front door/dash, convertible-style half-door construction with chrome-frame windows, mirror-image angled A & C pillar and rear roof and quarters treated separately as a foretaste of the future. The windows are somewhat deeper as the window sills are lower, Dietrich typically lowered the windshield but I retained the windshield height of the other two.Your comments and suggestions welcome. These will have to do until photos of the actual Royale 848 convertible sedan surface. As a teaser, there is one more concept sketch in the works......a dual-cowl sport phaeton!Steve

Mar 21, 201518 views

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· Mar 21, 2015

Steve that is great! You make me want to cut the roof off my car :).

As an aside, I was contacted by a fellow ACD member who is 100% confident he saw the real deal sometime in the last 15 years. It was owned by friends of his parents and was in rough shape but complete. He's been trying to track them down. I will post anything if we find it.

· Mar 22, 2015

I studied these drawings a bit more. Steve, I could not find the 31 Packard 845 Dietrich convertible sedan that you reference. For me I really like the first one... naturally. If I was going to guess, I would bet the actual car is actually like the 3rd picture.

· Mar 23, 2015

Hi AJ

I goofed, that would be the '31 Packard 840 Dietrich convertible sedan. Dietrich preferred that 3-2-1 proportion for the windows/top quarters size relationship, its an approximate, all done to please the eye. In working these up, I discounted the styling Dietrich did for the '32 Lincoln KB convertible sedans, it just doesn't seem to be in the same idiom as the streamlined Royale. The V-windshield matches the radiator theme but the moldings and rear treatment harken to an earlier ethic.

Picture three might well be what the actual car looked like, though when working it out, I realized those didn't appear on either Packard or Lincoln until 1932....though that wouldn't have prevented Dietrich from having one created earlier. Do we know which model year the one-off convertible sedan was? The '32 Lincoln KB Twelve Dietrich Sport Berlines are a real favorite, wonderful proportions and so elegant. I've been told only three of the eight still exist.....and none have been restored, as yet. Have you ever run across one?

Steve

· Mar 23, 2015

There was one of those Sport Berlines for sale in Ohio about 5 years ago. I agree with you and love them. I believe that all 3 8-48 Royales were produced at the same time as period literature refers to them as a group.

· Mar 23, 2015

Steve: Gorgeous drawings, congratulations! I would choose the first one, no doubt...

But, and this may be a big but... most cars were 135" wheelbase, A.J.'s is apparently the only recorded 148" wb, and then there was the huge 152" wb. Is there any material confirming a convertible sedan was ever built and if so on what chassis?

If it wasn't built, it should have been done, to your first design!

victor

· Mar 24, 2015

Victor, I believe somewhere in my pile of paperwork on my car I have a letter from the factory confirming that 3 148 inch chassis were built.