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Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s 1948 Packard Convertible up for bid in Monterey Auction
For years, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar trading cards and memorabilia have attracted high demand and big prices on the sports collectibles market.
Now one of the NBA legend’s most unique and valuable non-sports items is coming to auction — Kareem’s fully restored and modernized 1948 Packard Super 8 Convertible Victoria.
The beautiful, classic car owned by the six-time NBA champion and six-time league MVP is up for bid this weekend in the Aug. 17-19 Monterey Daytime Auction by Mecum Auctions in Monterey, Calif.
Abdul-Jabbar, a 19-time NBA All-Star and the league’s second-leading scorer of all time, has been signing autographs and selling his own memorabilia in recent years. He recently made his first appearance in decades at the National Sports Collectors Convention in Chicago, signing autographs twice at the five-day show.
Abdul-Jabbar, 76, was not only one of the NBA’s greatest players, but was also a film star, martial arts expert and a U.S. global cultural ambassador who was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2016. Mecum Auctions describes him as “a true Renaissance Man,” and his classic car certainly fits that description.
“I loved this car and have taken real good care of it for 10 years, but the time has come for me to let it go, so I hope there is an interested party out there,” Abdul-Jabbar says in a video on the Mecum Auctions website.
According to the lot description, the 1948 Packard models debuted in August 1947 “as the company’s first all-new postwar automobile designs.”
“The dashing Convertible Victoria body style stood at the top of the Packard model range, which gained high-profile earned acclaim from the New York Fashion Academy as the influential organization’s Car of the Year award winner for 1948,” the auction description says.
The car is one of 4,750 Super 8 Convertible Victorias built for 1948. Abdul-Jabbar’s restored and modernized model features:
• Upgraded 454/425 HP GM V-8 engine.
• 700R4 automatic transmission.
• 9-inch Ford rear end.
• Black paint with matching black canvas top and black snap-on boot cover.
• Refinished interior with individual Glide front bucket seats to accommodate Abdul-Jabbar’s height.
• Original front seat included.
• Power windows updated to electric motors.
• New power-operated convertible top and refreshed system, including new pump, wiring and switch.
• Air conditioning.
• Updated AM/FM stereo with Bluetooth connectivity.
• Power front disc brakes.
• Power steering.
• Updated suspension system with front and rear sway bars.
The Monterey Auction at the Hyatt Regency Monterey Hotel and Spa features more than 600 vehicles up for bid.
