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Yugoslav Communist Josip Broz Tito owned this 1948 Packard Super Eight Victoria
By Sasha Hadzik in Serbia.
Hat tip: “Packard Truck Dave”. Sasha’s late father found and restored (with the help of “Packard Truck Dave”) a 1918 Packard Truck.
Thanks to Packards International for permission to post this story.
Yugoslav Communist Josip Broz Tito owned the featured 1948 Packard Super Eight Victoria:
“Tito was very powerful and had a lot of luxury limousines like three long Pullman Mercedes 600 half open cars specially designed for him. But he had a special affinity for the Packard brand.
I hear from older people that Tito used this Packard during the Summit for Non-aligned Nations and other events, for his guests such as Indira Gandhi, to show them around town.
After Tito’s death in 1980, the car was donated to the Macedonian government. Later, they sold the car to Montenegro where it was used at the airport to tow gliders into air.
My Father’s friend Majo is from Niksic-Montenegro and remembers that time….He helped my Father find and buy this Packard in 1985 from a collapsed garage and saved it from waste.
I have some photos from the restoration time and from my wedding to Branka.
Today, as a convertible, the car is popular for publicity and photo shoots like this occasion for a Czech soft drink advertisement.”
Sasha Hadzik, Serbia
Marshal Josip Broz Tito, Communist President of Yugoslavia, and 1st Secretary-General of the Non-Aligned Movement, was born as Josip Broz on 7 May 1892, in the village of Kumrovec, in what was then the Austro-Hungarian Empire (present-day Croatia). He was the seventh of 15 children born to Roman Catholic peasants.
Josef Broz, aka Tito, (1892-1980) Yugoslavia’s President for Life, a new title which he conferred on himself, is walking alongside his 1948 Packard Super 8 Convertible. Note that the top is not completely lowered and that there are no barricades to keep the peasants in their place. Also it seems unusual that an Emperor would walk in a parade instead of ride…especially in a Packard. Interesting guy, would fit our description of a “Car Guy,” in his youth pre-WW I, worked as a laborer in various car factories—Skoda, Benz, Austro-Daimler where he drove and tested the cars. Photo taken somewhere in Montenegro during a good-will visit by Tito.
(Above and below) January 2019. Fully restored 1948 Packard Super 8 Convertible, originally owned by Yugoslavian President Josef Broz Tito, on the set of a TV commercial shoot in front of the White Palace at Belgrade, Serbia. The Palace was the residence of the King before WW II, later it belonged to Tito; now the Prince’s residence.
1998: Sasha Hadzic, son of Sait Hadzic who bought the car in 1985, marries Branka and parades boldly through town in the Tito Packard with the media in full attendance. Twenty One years older now, Sasha is also the author of this story.
Note the power windows – rare in 1948. Packard was the first to introduce power windows: 1941.
Gas stations from the ’50s and ’60s as featured at Curbside Classic
Hat tip: “Chris-to-Fear”
A Mobil station with a ’55 Ford nearby.
'56 Packard Man 
Yugoslavia knew a classy auto when they saw it!!
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Indeed! It’s quite a story that the car survived past Tito’s death.
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MacArthur had a Packard, but I’m sure you knew that!!
http://budwells.com/2014/11/229/
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… hee hee … Well, I DID know that but had forgotten it! Thank you for the reminder! His staff car was a Clipper – one of the original Clippers. I don’t recall if it was a ’41 or a ’42.
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’42
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Hello,
Living in Yugoslavia form 1950 (when I was born) up to 2010 and being the member of Serbian Association of Motoring Historians for a few years, I could add a little about otherwise good and correct article.
Marshal Tito, as he was the most called, love two things besides power: beautiful women and nice cars (good suits and uniforms, watches, Cuban cigars and whisky, too). Love for nice objects started from the period between the World Wars when he lived in Moscow or Western democratises, under various names, but with good cars and women found by Comintern… Of course, he had the last decision about choosing the best.
Similar was during the Second World War when he led Partisans. After the War, it was something easier to provide objects of his desires…
Beck to automobiles: in a few first years, most of the automobiles that he used or belonged to the high-level establishment was from the USSR. After brake with the Soviet Communist party and USSR in 1948, stated to arrive American limousines in Yugoslavia! From the early sixties, dominant were Mercedes-Benz automobiles and limousines in all sizes and shapes.
However, neither of them belong to Tito, he was just user of them: they were registered as special versions of Army or Militia (Police). The same was with many of automobiles that he got as a present from leaders from the USA and their allies from the Western World. One big Rolls-Roys he got from Quin Elisabeth II but it was not used a lot. From the USSR and their allies – he got as present fast motto-boats, made in the classic style of mahogany or aluminium. Both of such cars and boats he used to drive foreign guests: politicians, actors, people from jet-set – across and around Island Brioni that served as his residence, too.
When he died, neither his last wife nor his many children got anything: everything belonged to “The People”, meaning museums and state. There were not secret gold or money, properties, cars and valuable things.
And, yes – shown “peasants” (in this case should be citizens of Belgrade) were not ever beside barricades. Cars were mostly open and people approach quite near his limousine throwing flowers inside (not one bomb between flowers?)… When he was driven with President Nixon during his visit to Belgrade, we were on the sidewalks of the big boulevard, but when cars and motorcycles approach all of the people started to run toward his limousine, so he and Nixon could shake hands with the nearest persons. Nixon’s security was choked, but he was delighted. Later, he walked alone through the centre of the city chatting with people.
Just some trivial sentences about old history, better said my memories and impressions about the bygone era…
Regards,
Zoran
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Thank you for this interesting and informative comment! 😊
… and thank you for following this blog. “Gear Head” appears each Tuesday.
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