If, hypothetically, you were to ask a DeSoto diehard to name the rarest and most valuable examples of that long-defunct brand, it’s not unlikely that the 1956 Adventurer and Fireflite “Pacesetter” Convertible would settle somewhere near the top of the list. CC’s Eric Clem happened to find both at the same event, and he posted these pictures at the CC Cohort.
You won’t find either of these special DeSotos in the 1956 sales brochures, both being introduced well into the selling season, but it was worth the wait if you were a fan of the brand named after the Spanish explorer. The Adventurer, the high-performance hardtop seen here, was released on February 18, 1956, and only 996 were built. DeSoto rightfully wanted a halo model in the vein of Chrysler’s mighty 300, and in doing so, they concocted a special version of their own Hemi engine.
The Fireflite’s 330-cubic-inch V8 made 255 horsepower, but DeSoto bored the Hemi .060 oversize for its duties in the Adventurer (giving it a 341-cubic-inch displacement). It got a higher compression ratio (9.25:1 versus 8.5:1), a much hotter camshaft (see AMA specs here), stiffer valve springs, and two Carter WCFB four-barrel carburetors in lieu of the Fireflite’s one. As such, the Adventurer made 320 horsepower, keeping it neck-and-neck in terms of power-to-weight ratio with its big brother, the 300.
On the beach at Daytona in February 1956, stock car driver Red Byron piloted an Adventurer to 137.293 miles per hour, not bad for a two-ton, 220.9-inch long DeSoto.
All DeSotos got more dramatic tailfins in 1956, which made them some of the best-looking DeSotos of all time, but the Adventurer also got dual exhausts, dual tailfin-mounted antennas, and dual exterior mirrors to augment the basic body’s jet-age looks (and dual quads under the hood).
According to the AMA specification sheets, the Adventurer also sat over two inches lower than other models (60.1 versus 62.7 inches unloaded), most likely the result of the revised spring specifications of the Adventurer’s heavy-duty suspension.
Power windows, a power bench seat, fancy gold upholstery, and carpeting covered with little flecks of gold were also standard equipment. We can’t tell from this shot, because the new-for-1956 Push Button Drive was located to the left of the steering wheel, but the transmission was the two-speed PowerFlite automatic, with no manual transmission available.
All of these extras make the extra $422 over the Fireflite Sportsman seem like the deal of the decade, and indeed, the run of Adventurers sold out quickly.
The other 1956 DeSoto captured on film was this white-over-gold Fireflite Convertible. At first, I assumed that someone had painted it to match the Adventurer and added a set of Adventurer wheel covers.
But DeSoto was given the honor of pacing the Indianapolis 500 in 1956, so they released a “Pacesetter” convertible to commemorate the occasion. Few were built (I’ve seen figures of 186 and 400), making it even more uncommon than the Adventurer.
The actual Indy Pace Car used the standard Fireflite engine, but the suspension was beefed up for the high-speed duties necessary at the Speedway. I’ve been unable to find the suspension specifications for the cars sold to the public, but Hemmings.com’s coverage of a Pacesetter Convertible mentions that they did have upgraded suspension systems.
It’s a little tough to tell with the window raised, but the Pacesetter Convertible’s interior is very similar to the Adventurer’s, and they both have one of the most European-inspired dashboards of any American car of the 1950s. It’s uncluttered and clean with complete instrumentation in round gauge pods.
It appears that these rare DeSotos are waiting for a ferry, and they’re almost certainly owned by the same person, who is clearly and rightly enamored by Chrysler’s long-gone mid-range marque. I go back-and-forth about whether I prefer the 1955 or the 1956 model, but today, count me in as a 1956 man. These white-over-gold beauties are gorgeous.
Related Reading
Car Show Classic: 1955 DeSoto Fireflite Sportsman – Did The Forward Look Ever Look So Good? (by me)
1956 DeSoto Fireflite Convertible – A Rare And Beautiful Car, But Why Do The Clouds In This Ad Look Like A Nuclear Explosion? (by Aaron Severson)
Curbside Classic: 1956 DeSoto Fireflite – Yeah, It’s Got A Hemi (by MarkKyle1964)
I love these cars. On balance I prefer 55s to 56s, but for both Chrysler and De Soto, this was their absolute peak style-wise. These two are beauties.
Wow, those are beauties! I would shudder at the thought of taking them on the ferry though, worse than a mall parking lot for possible scratches and dings.
I think I like the hardtop better than the convertible in this case.
I sure would not put both onto the same ferry, ride! (separate, crossings)
Two great DeSotos, I’d say that Chrysler built some good cars back in the Day. However due to the popularity of the recent Dodge Chargers, Challengers, Chrysler 300s, and Ram trucks, their Glory Days aren’t that long gone.
When I was looking for my first car, I test drove a used ’56 DeSoto. Don’t remember the model, but I do remember thinking the Push Button Drive seemed a little sketchy. As a poor college student, I didn’t want any weird repair costs.
BTW, I’ve traveled many miles on the Washington State ferry system (it’s the largest in North America) and never have seen any accidents nor incidents. The attendants are very careful to put out-of-state drivers in the middle of the ship so there are no tight turns transiting on and off.
I can honestly say that I have never seen a DeSoto in person. They were discontinued four years before I was born and rust killed them before I was really aware of cars. These cars were produced in Canada, but the numbers must have been very small.
There is a faded 1953/54 DeSoto in East Van, in the Hastings Sunrise neighbourhood near the Second Narrows Bridge. 😅
If DeSoto were still around, they would just be selling SUV’s.
Nice essay on a wonderful auto. Groucho reminded us, “No other car rides like a De Soto.”
Thanks, Thomas!
Here’s some more Groucho automobile content (at least the first half). In 1961, he narrated a special called “Merrily We Roll Along” about the history of the car.
https://youtu.be/-i8brz9nE1E?si=wB9ofAM7KtxfMeYt
I wonder why Chrysler chose ‘You Bet Your Life’ to promote Desoto. I mean, who were the viewers they were targeting?
To that end, I love Groucho’s humor and have to admit I’d have bought a Desoto if he told me to.
“Say the secret word and the duck’ll come down and give you a hundred dollars . . .and a Payment Book!”…
The 1956 DeSoto/Chrysler New Yorker is my favorite car of the 1950’s. Both of the cars pictured had dual exhausts, but I’m under the belief that the exhaust usually exited out of the triangular cutout on the bottom of the bumper.
An elderly doctor two houses down the street from us in Iowa City had a ’56 DeSoto four door and once he had pity on me while I was trudging through the snow to school in the morning and picked me up. It was a very memorable ride. The big seats and the very impressive dashboard and the burble of the hemi our front. It made me a fan of these ’55-’56 DeSotos and Chryslers.
I remember being given a ride in a ’56 Desoto Fireflight while hitchhiking. It was 7 years old at the time, but still an impressive car. The ’55 Fireflight two-door hardtop is a classic with few peers.
To my eye this is the look that Chrysler should have stayed with and developed.
Stylish and tasteful aren’t always the easiest things to combine but these cars did it. The 1957 re-stylings were sensational but arguably had nowhere to go. By 1960 Chrysler was clearly stuck and was then seemingly panicked into an equally dramatic, but this time disastrous, design about-face in the early 1960’s.
It’s possible to imagine a clear design development however from the 1956 Chryslers/DeSotos to the 1961 Continental, and to the best of the early 1960’s GM designs.
I’m also a 1956 favorite fan. Weighed against Chryslers – all models – I’ve always stuck with the De Soto styling differences between the two. The ’56 fins were just right – beyond invisibility yet below excess. I like the ’57’s and after, but the ’56 rear quarter panels are what I felt were a balanced fit within the overall intent what fins added to the designs.
These are beautiful cars, you can see the quality built in to them, the chrome around the windows is really well done. Probably peak Chrysler when performance, quality and style are considered.
I do prefer the 55 grille but either one is just right.
It’s Delightful, It’s Delovely, It’s DeSoto! Lovely cars, 55 and 56 were the best looking DeSotos – stylish but still dignified. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a convertible with a one piece wrap around rear window.
’58 Adventurer convert was the rarest, only 82 made. I was offered a black and gold ’59 Adventurer in Binghamton but turned it down as I wanted a ’58… and never did find one.
There was a 1958 DeSoto Adventurer in my home town in the 1970s and 80s. Black and gold. I only encountered it twice. One day in the early 1970s when I was about 14 I wandered over to the local Plymouth dealer to check out their used car lot. They always had some interesting stuff in the back row. That day there was this DeSoto Adventurer convertible that I assumed someone had traded in. The back row was ussually home to older cars, independents and weird imports so the DeSoto fit right in. Because of the dual headlights I identified it as a 58. It was probably a Sunday when no salesmen were around to chase tire kickers off the lot and I popped the hood to look at the engine. I knew what a DeSoto was but had no clue at that time what and Adventurer was or how rare it was so I didn’t question how it ended up in a used car lot in Saskatchewan.
About 10 years later I saw it again. This time it was in the showroom of the local Dodge dealer and had been restored or at least detailed as it looked much better than what I had recalled. It was surrounded by a rope barrier and their were signs explaining just how rare it was, One of the salesmen was a former classmate of mine and he was able to confirm it was the same car I had seen years before. Apparently it had been purchased by the owner of the Plymouth dealership for his personal collection. I probably saw it a day or two after it arrived and before it was moved to a storage garage to await restoration. At some point it was sold to another local car collector who did the recently completed restoration and this was its first public showing. I never saw the car again and both of the local owners have long since passed away. Where it is now I have no clue.
For a long time I preferred the 55, probably owing to the 55 Firedome sedan my grandma had until I was about 8 years old. But I have gravitated to the 56. A high-trim 56 DeSoto is the best looking of all of that corporation’s offerings that year, IMHO.
What a fabulous treasure chest of eye candy on that ferry ride!