This beautiful, black and ivory 1956 DeSoto Fireflite Convertible looks wonderful with its matching black and white interior. It has clearly been cherished over the years.
The new “Forward Look” had made its appearance the previous year and we had a restyle for 1956 too. At the rear there was now a new taillight cluster with three turret style lenses on each side.
On the sides the double molding trim spread from front to back flaring out to form a color sweep panel on the rear fender.
At the front the chunky grille had gone and there was now a new perforated mesh with a large V in the center. The new, large bumper guards also incorporated the parking lamps.
Power comes from a 330 cubic inch V8 producing 255 horsepower. It was push-button driving too – with the introduction by Chrysler of the new, dash mounted gear selection. This was connected to the PowerFlite automatic transmission that came as standard.
1956 was the first year that Chrysler Corp. offered a 12 Volt electrical system.
Check out the stunning, correct white leather and black cloth interior.
DeSoto made just 1,485 Fireflite convertibles for 1956 making this a pretty rare car. Had you ordered one of these new the base price would have been $3,454. Power steering would have cost an additional $97, power brakes were $40 and a powered front seat was $70 if you wanted it.
This ’56 Desoto Fireflite is currently for sale on eBay. (follow the link for more photos)