Car of the Month – October, 2022
1957 DeSoto Adventurer Convertible
![28_'57 DeSoto black_cropped bottom[52]](https://newportcarmuseum.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/28_57-DeSoto-black_cropped-bottom52-scaled.jpg "28_'57 DeSoto black_cropped bottom[52]")
1957 DeSoto Adventurer Convertible
Engine – 345 CID Hemi V8
Horsepower – 345 hp with dual four-barrel carburetors and a full race cam
Transmission – PowerFlight automatic transmission
Curb Weight – 4,210 lbs
0-60 time – 7.2 seconds
¼ mile time – 16 seconds
Top speed – 124 mph
Number built – 300
MSRP price – $4,272.00
DeSoto produced a total of 1,950 Adventurer cars in 1957 but only 300 of them were convertibles. The Adventurer was offered in just two exclusive colors: white with gold accents or black with gold accents. (Even the wheel covers were gold colored.) The distinctive silhouette of the Adventurer featured a body six inches lower than the previous year’s, extreme tailfins and lots of chrome. Bumper to bumper it was 218 inches long and required a turning radius of 42 feet.
The car debuted two months after other 1957 DeSoto models, and it was an immediate hit with the public as well as automotive magazines. Mechanix Illustrated editor Tom McCahill declared the DeSoto Adventurer the best styled of all the Chrysler cars of 1957. The marketing people at DeSoto promoted the car’s new Torsion-Aire Suspension and proclaimed the Adventurer as “the car that makes yesterday seem years ago.”
The 1957 Adventurer is powered by Chrysler’s high output V8 and has dual four-barrel carburetors. The engine develops one horsepower per cubic inch of displacement and was the first production car ever to boast this. .