In 1941 Packard introduced its radical new 1401 'Clipper' range with an all-enveloping body which was merely 'catch-up' in comparison with is competitors; Howard 'Dutch' Darrin claims to have designed the Clipper after returning from Paris as a successful coachbuilder, but it is now known that Packard 'adjusted' quite a bit of the body for production. The Clipper was built on a 127-imch wheelbase and given a 4,620cc straight eight. Only a 4-door sedan was offered for the 1941 season bhut for 1942 there were also a convertible, a taxi, a station wagon and a commercial car. Clipper One-Sixty and One-Eighty for 1942 were even longer and had a 5,830cc engine the most powerful automobile engine of the time. Production was halted in 1942 by the War, and when it resumed in 1946 the styling of the 2100 Clipper was almost commonplace amongst the newer cars from General Motors and Ford. Nevertheless Packard produced 120-inch Clipper Six and 127-inch Clipper Eights for 1946, but sales were handicapped by steel shortages as Packard were well down the pecking order below General Motors and Ford. John Reinhart updated the Clipper styling for 1948 and effectively ruined it.