Due to a steady flow of requests to bring out a modern
interpretation of its classic pre-war grille, Packard developed the
"Request" prototype and debuted it at the 1955 Chicago Auto Show. Based
on the 1955 Packard 400 two-door hardtop, the front design on the
Request dream car did characterize the traditional grille, and the car
also wore custom-built split bumpers and modified front sheet metal.
Creative Industries constructed the one-of-a-kind Request for Packard,
and the handsome 2-tone exterior was painted in pearlescent white, with
copper-colored top and side accent strips
A
third Creative-Packard project was the 1955 Packard Request show car
which debuted at the 1955 Chicago Auto Show. Packard had received a
number of requests to bring out an up-to-date version of their pre-1951
classic-era radiator and decided to placate the critics with their
"Request", hence the 1955 Request show car.
Designed by Dick
Teague, the Request was built using a modified Patrician with a new
front end treatment utilizing a classic-era Packard-style grill
separated by two massive front bumpers. The vehicle’s hood and fenders
were molded using reinforced Plaskon polyester resin, a product of the
Barrett Division of Allied Chemical. In a 1978 interview with Leon
Dixon, Creative’s Gary Hutchings recalled: "We had a heck of a time
finding a place with tanks big enough to plate those huge front bumpers.
We finally got ’em done over in Hamtramck (a Detroit suburb)."
Source: Internet
