1953 DeSoto Adventurer Concept: a Virgil Exner Favorite

The 1953 DeSoto Adventurer show car was one of those attractive Ghia-built Chrysler Corporation show cars of the early 1950s.

It was designed by Virgil Exner, who later became head of Chrysler styling.  During the early 1950s he was greatly interested in the styling of sports and sport-touring cars by Italian coach builders such as Ghia, Pinin Farina, Vignale, Touring and Zagato.  He felt that Italian designs were closer to what automobiles should be than the jet fighter and spaceship design features that were starting to appear on American cars and that were evident in some dream car designs, especially those from Ford.

The Adventurer's design was a favorite car of Exner's, who drove the car for a few years following its car show duties.  It was based on a shortened DeSoto chassis and powered by the DeSoto Firedome V-8 motor.

Exner was at the top of his game in those days, so who am I to gainsay his belief that the Adventurer was a very fine example of the stylist's art.  However, even though I really like the design, a few quibbles are offered in the captions below.

Gallery

Front quarter view featuring a nicely shaped grill that combines classical verticality with practical 1950s horizontal elements.  Also practical for a show car is the massive bumper -- often show car bumpers are sculptural features with little ability to protect a car from damage.  Fenders are blended into the body, yet retain a hint of pre-1950 separateness.  That is, there is no flow-through side fender design as might be expected of an American car of this vintage.

New we begin a walkaround.  The exhaust/muffler system is about the only show car jazz item I can detect.  It provides a sporty feeling, but detracts from the overall design and when heated by exhaust gasses might give burns to people bumping a leg against it.  Also, I wonder how effective that sleeve heat-guard is.

This side view reveals a nice, long hood.  Almost too long, as the driver sits slightly abaft of the car's center.  The single side window makes for a clean passenger compartment exterior design, but backseat passengers' outside vision is restricted by the wide pillar.

The rear quarter view is also pleasing.  Again, a massive bumper.  It's probably needed here thanks to the delicate tuned-under aft end of the body.  Another impractical item is the lack of a trunk lid.  The only opening seems to be for access to the spare tire.

Here is the Adventurer with a lighter paint scheme.  White-painted cars reduce the visual effect of body sculpting because highlights are camouflaged.  Note how the fenders nearly disappear here.

Rear quarter view showing an open door and some interior features.

The Adventurer in a show-setting publicity photo.