De Soto Adventurer

The designer Virgil Exner came up with some impressive designs.  His creations were the Firedome, with a 4,786 cc V-8 engine and the Fireflite.  Customers flocked back  in their droves and once more De  Soto sold 129,767 cars in 1955.  Exner was a celebrated man and was given increasing freedom by the directors.  Shortly after this he introduced his first four-door coupe.  De Soto did not stay out of the race for more horsepower either: this is why Exner built the Adventurer in 1956 to compete with the Chrysler 300.  This new coupe was available in black, white or red or any combination of these three colours.  The V-8 engine produced no less than 320 bhp, which gave the car a top speed of 144 mph (230 kph).  The Adventurer was the most powerful car to come out of Detroit in 1957.