DeSoto Fireflite
The DeSoto Fireflite was a vehicle offered in several model generations by the DeSoto automobile brand belonging to the Chrysler Group . In 1955 and 1956, the Fireflite was the brand's top model before relinquishing this rank to the Adventurer in 1957 .
Model history
1955 to 1956: $ 100 million look
1955
The first Fireflite generation, introduced in 1955, was positioned above the Firedome . Like the Chrysler models Windsor and New Yorker, both vehicles had a 3200 mm long wheelbase. This placed them below the (newly founded) Imperial brand (3,302 mm) in the hierarchy of the Chrysler Group , but ranked above the vehicles from Dodge (3,040 mm) and Plymouth (2,924 mm).
The Fireflite was available as a convertible, a two-door coupe and a four-door sedan. All versions used the same wheelbase. The body design of the Fireflite was a modification of the Hundred Million Dollar Look designed by Virgil Exner and the profile was largely based on the size-identical Chrysler models. However, the Fireflite wore eye-catching side decorations with contrasting color inserts and wide chrome bezels. In the Coronado equipment version, the Fireflite even had a three-color paintwork (turquoise, black, white). Overall, the 1955 Fireflite is described as the “glitziest” model from the Chrysler Group.
The Fireflite was powered by a 4.9 liter eight cylinder V8 engine with an output of 200 bhp in 1955. As a power transmission served PowerFlite - automatic . The automatic had a "flite control" lever on the dashboard. The car weighed between 1,850 kg and 2,100 kg, depending on the body shape.
1956
For the 1956 model year, the bodywork of the previous year's model was retained in principle, but there were small tail fins at the end of the rear fenders that covered three round lights that were attached one below the other. In addition, the grille changed for 1956.
From a technical point of view, the Fireflite received a new engine in 1956, like the models from the Chrysler brand. It was now standard with a 255 bhp, 5.6 liter eight-cylinder engine. In contrast , the most exclusive equipment variant, the Fireflite Adventurer , had a 5.8 liter engine that developed 320 bhp. With it, the Fireflite accelerated from 0 to 100 km / h in 11 s and reached a top speed of 175 km / h.
In 1956, a gold and white Fireflite convertible was the official pace car of the Indianapolis 500 race . De Soto produced around 100 replicas of the pace car.
1957 to 1960: Forward Look
For the 1957 model year, the design of all Chrysler models changed fundamentally. Virgil Exner had developed a smooth-surfaced design with large tail fins under the term Forward Look , which all Chrysler brands used with different details. There were four different wheelbases across the group. As in the previous year, the Chrysler models and the De Soto Fireflite used the second largest (3,200 mm), while Dodge (3,098 mm) and Plymouth (2,990 mm) both used shorter versions.
As in previous years, DeSoto's version of the Forward Look was characterized by a striking two-tone paintwork and chrome-framed applications on the sides of the car, the shape of which has changed over the years. The straight rising and tapering tail fins led to a light unit in which three vertically arranged round lights were combined. The exhaust system opened into two openings that were integrated into the rear bumpers. The advertising suggested that the shape of the tail fins gave the car aerodynamic stability at high speeds; in fact, they hardly had any influence on the driving behavior of the car. The design of the front section changed several times within the production range of the Forward Look .
The Fireflite was available in four body styles from 1957 to 1959: coupé, convertible, sedan and station wagon. The four-door sedan was by far the most successful body shape; the rarest version is the 1959 model year convertible, of which just 186 were produced. The combination models are also rare.
1957
From 1957 the Fireflite was only the second most expensive model of the brand. The Adventurer, previously an equipment variant of the Fireflite, took over the role of the top model. The Fireflite was equipped with a 5.8 liter eight-cylinder engine that developed 290 hp.
The front of the Fireflite was designed horizontally. The radiator grille was integrated into the front bumper and extended across the entire width of the car. Above the bumper was the rounded bonnet. The designers had provided double headlights as lighting units; however, they were not yet approved in all American states , so that round individual headlights could also be installed as an alternative.
1957 was the most successful year for the Fireflite of the Forward Look era. A total of 28,430 vehicles were built, more than twice as many as in each subsequent model year.
1958
For the 1958 model year, the body of the Fireflite was only slightly revised; only the design of the radiator grille changed in detail. However, the vehicle received a new engine: the model now used a 5.9-liter eight-cylinder from the wedge-head series that delivered 305 bhp. The 1958 model year Fireflite was unsuccessful. Compared to the previous year's models with almost identical design, the production figures of the Fireflite fell by more than 50 percent. One reason for this was the deteriorating manufacturing quality.
1959
For the 1959 model year, the Chrysler designers revised the front section of the DeSoto models. It was designed more ruggedly and now resembled the Imperial models of the same year with the protruding double headlights and the heavy chrome-plated bumpers. Again there was a bigger engine. The eight-cylinder engine now had a displacement of 6.3 liters; however, the maximum output remained at 305 hp. The sales of the Fireflite fell again. In 1959, only 9,127 Fireflites in all four body versions could be sold.
1960
For the 1960 model year, the positioning of the Fireflite changed. DeSoto reduced its model range from four to two series: the Firesweep and Firedome models , which had recently taken a market position below the Fireflite, were discontinued; thus the Fireflite became the base model of the DeSoto brand, while the Adventurer remained the top model.
In 1960 DeSoto presented a new design. The roof construction remained essentially unchanged, but the cars were given a strongly jagged profile with opposing arches. The tail fins now started in the area of the driver's door and followed a continuously rising line until the end of the car. The front of the car had a tall, barred grille, and the front bumper lowered into the center of the car.
The wheelbase of the Fireflite has been reduced to 3,098 mm. The dimensions of the Fireflite corresponded to the previous Firesweep.
The engine was changed again. The previous eight-cylinder engine with 6.3 liters displacement was now reserved for the Adventurer; Instead, the Fireflite received the 5.9-liter version that had already been offered in 1958. In 1960 the engine made 295 bhp.
In 1960 the Fireflite was only offered as a coupé and a sedan. The cabriolet and station wagon versions have been discontinued.
In 1960 sales of the Fireflite increased again. 14,484 vehicles of both body versions were sold.
1960 was the last year of the Fireflite. For the 1961 model year, DeSoto dropped all model names; the cars were only called DeSoto. They were largely identical to the Chrysler Windsor.
Production numbers
|
DeSoto Fireflite production numbers |
|||||
| Model year | Hardtop Coupé | Convertible Coupé (Cabriolet) |
Hardtop Sedan | Station wagon | Total model year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1955 | 10,313 | 775 | 26,637 | - | 37,725 |
| 1956 | 8,475 | 1485 | 3,350 | - | 13,310 |
| 1957 | 7,217 | 1,151 | 18,291 | 1,771 | 28,430 |
| 1958 | 3,284 | 474 | 7,435 | 927 | 12,120 |
| 1959 | 1,393 | 186 | 6,844 | 704 | 9,127 |
| 1960 | 3,494 | - | 10,990 | - | 14,484 |
literature
- Richard M. Langworth: Encyclopedia of American Cars 1930-1980 . New York (Beekman House) 1984. ISBN 0-517-42462-2 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ The practice of choosing shorter wheelbases for coupes and convertibles than for sedans did not establish itself in the USA until the late 1960s.
- ↑ "The most glittery of all". See Langworth: Encyclopedia of American Cars 1930-1980, p. 227.
- ↑ The Adventurer became an independent DeSoto model the following year.
- ↑ See DeSoto's advertisement from 1957
- ^ Langworth: Encyclopedia of American Cars 1930-1980, p. 229.
- ↑ Information from Langworth: Encyclopedia of American Cars 1930-1980, p. 235 f.
