'Cursed' limousine to hit the roads of Medellin again
By Daniel Brody, Editorial Director
Monday, August 23, 2010
For thirty years, nobody dared drive the only Packard Limousine in Colombia.
The car was acquired by the Antioqueño industrialist and philanthropist Diego Echavarría Misas in 1947 at a Packard Motor exhibition in Detroit.
This olive-green, limited-edition 1948 Super Eight Sedan became the preferred vehicle of Echavarría and his German wife Benedikta Zur Nieden, who he had met while studying in Europe.
In September of 1971, Echavarría was kidnapped while on his way to his home in the limousine in the El Poblado neighborhood of Medellin. He forbid his spouse from paying the kidnappers for his liberation, not wanting to encourage the practice, and was eventually killed.
The car susbsequently went missing at a mechanic's repair shop, until being found in the street abandoned and in poor condition at the end of the '80s by Echavarría's secretary's nephew, Francisco Delgado.
Delgado contacted Packard directly and began restoring the car, ordering new parts, re-upholstering the interior, and installing a motor that Echavarría had brought from the U.S.
However, in the middle of the restoration process in 2000, Delgado was killed by a stray bullet while traveling through the Túnel de Oriente in Medellin.
With two dead owners, the car began to get a reputation for bad luck, and Delgado's relatives had trouble selling the car.
But earlier this year, Humberto Tamayo, founder of the glassware company Cristalería Milan, negotiated with the family and bought the limousine for what he called a good price, and gave it a fresh coat of paint.
Tamayo premiered the restored automobile at the Classic Car Parade at the Medellin Flower Festival, and donated it to Echavarría's house, which is now the Museo El Castillo, although Tamayo reserves the right to take the car for a spin every now and then. It is currently on display at the Premium Plaza in Medellin.
The car's new owner says the curse has been lifted, and is unafraid of the limousine's tragic history.
"This vehicle has gotten into my soul because of what it means for the history of Antioquia. I bought it in spite of the bad omens it had. My friends tell me that I am going to die soon. But those who didn't buy it will have the same destiny," he told reporters.
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