1954 DeSoto Adventurer I (Ghia)

De Soto Division, Chrysler Corporation, Detroit, Mich. The Desoto Adventurer, newest member of Chrysler Corporation's family of experimental "idea" cars, will be displayed for the first time November 12 (1953) at a national press showing of new 1954 model cars at the Company's general offices in Detroit. The Adventurer, a four-passenger sports coupe, was conceived and designed in Chrysler's styling studios in Detroit. The body, built on a modified Desoto chassis, was hand-crafted by Ghia of Turin, Italy. Car has a wheelbase of 111 inches, is only 53 inches high and is powered by the 170-horsepower Desoto FireDome V-8 engine.

The arrival of Chevy’s two-seat Corvette in 1953 prompted the dashing one-off 1954 and 1955 DeSoto Adventurer concept cars.

Though visually related to earlier Exner specials, it mounted a 1953 DeSoto chassis cut to a suitably sporty 111-inch wheelbase. Despite the close-coupled coupe styling with no rear side windows, the Adventurer could hold four in comfort.

Highlights included a new iteration of the inverted-trapezoid grille, functional side exhausts, another quick-fill fuel cap, the usual chrome wires wearing "wide whites," off-white paint, and minimal bright accents.

Aggressive side exhausts foreshadowed a feature of the far-distant Dodge Viper. A small rear hatch allowed access to the spare tire, but luggage space was evidently next to nil.

The interior was swathed in black leather with white piping, and satin-finish aluminum set off a dashboard with a complete bank of circular gauges.

Exner tried very hard to get the DeSoto Adventurer approved for limited production. But as Maury Baldwin, one of his staffers, later recalled, "Management at that point was very stodgy. A lot of people attributed it to the old Airflow disaster. They were afraid to make any new inroads."

Exner lobbied hard for a production version of the racy 1954 DeSoto Adventurer, and though it came closer to approval than any of his other specials, Chrysler management just didn’t have the courage.

"If it had been built, it would have been the first four-passenger sports car made in this country..." Ex said. "Of course, it had the DeSoto Hemi [a 1953 stock 273 with 170 horsepower]. It was my favorite car always..."

При разработках кузовов американские дизайн-бюро постоянно прибегали к услугам итальянских кузовных ателье. С конца 40-х и до начала 60-х годов была широко распространена практика отправки готового шасси в Италию, где и изготовлялся кузов. Подобному итало-американскому сотрудничеству обязано своим всемирным признанием итальянское проектное бюро Ghia, возглавляемое Луиджи Сегре. Первым плодом совместного сотрудничества Сегре и Экснера стал появившийся осенью 1953 года автомобиль De Soto Adventurer I. Классический представитель итальянской школы дизайна, Adventurer I имел весьма косвенное отношение к аэростилю. Это двухдверное купе – не что иное, как «доведенный» проект Вирджила Экснера Chrysler K310 1951 года. Новая версия имела укороченную до 2820 мм колесную базу при общей длине 4820 мм. Несмотря на очень небольшую высоту (всего 1360 мм), внутри было вполне уютно. К слову сказать, сам шеф-дизайнер концерна Chrysler Вирджил Экснер ездил на опытном образце Adventurer I целых три года.