Chrysler introduced the DeSoto Adventurer, a high-powered, two-door hardtop similar to the Chrysler 300, on Feb. 18, 1956.
DeSoto was born in 1928 to slot above Plymouth and eventually targeted the growing middle of the postwar American car market, competing with Oldsmobile, Mercury, Hudson, Willys and Studebaker.
The Adventurer name debuted as a four seat, high-performance sports coupe concept car — designed by Ghia — in 1954.
The Adventurer — available initially in a combination of gold with black or white paint — packed a high-output 341-cubic-inch Hemi V-8 engine with 320 hp, a dual exhaust and custom trim. Standard appointments on the limited-run car included dual outside side mirrors, gold wheel covers, a radio, an electric clock, a padded instrument panel, windshield washers, dual rear-mounted radio antennae, full instrumentation and a heavy-duty suspension.
The vehicle rode on a 126-inch wheelbase and was 220.9 inches long and 78.9 inches wide.
The price was approximately $3,680, far less than the $4,000-plus Chrysler 300B with a 340-hp Hemi motor.
Chrysler built more than 100,000 DeSotos for 1956; just 996 of them were Adventurers. The Adventurer convertible debuted in 1957, and the entire Adventurer line was dropped after the 1960 model, which included a sedan.
Chrysler disclosed plans to eliminate DeSoto on Nov. 18, 1960, with more than 2 million vehicles produced since 1928.