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"The car DeSoto should have built":
http://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/car ... ?refer=rss
This car has come to my attention through a couple of different forums, and every time I see it, I go "wow"!
I like it.
It's supposed to be fun!
1949 De Soto Custom Convertible (project)
It doesn't duplicate a car that was actually manufactured by DeSoto so I don't think "clone" is the right word. Fantasy creation or resto-rod might be apt descriptions.
Have a nice day
Steve
The web-site for the current owners of this 56 Adventurer convertible, The Cars of Dreams Museum, states, "The car that Desoto didn't build but should have. Desoto Adventurer convertibles were not factory produced until 1957. All years' Adventurer convertibles, 1957 through 1959, were Fireflite convertibles with Adventurer components added, such as a bigger engine, the 341 C.I. Hemi engine, colors, special interior design and fabrics, plus all Adventurer scripts and medallions, That is what this car is: a Fireflite convertible with all Adventurer components like the factory did on the hardtops." So they do admit that this is a modified Fireflite convertible - at least they are up front about it.
P.S. - While the museum's web-site lists all of the vehicles by make, and they do have separate lists for their Dodges and Plymouths, I found it interesting, and a bit insulting, that all of their De Sotos are listed as Chrysler De Sotos and that the De Sotos didn't get a separate listing as they should have.
Bill
Update; this car hammered at auction for $156,750.
It's supposed to be fun!
1949 De Soto Custom Convertible (project)
Tim,
Pardon my ignorance, but was this 'hammered' in a good or bad way?
Mark
Ha! Despite being hammered, the DeSoto represented the brand most professionally.....
It's supposed to be fun!
1949 De Soto Custom Convertible (project)
A old car friend forwarded me a web link to a summary of the Florida auction where this car was sold. It provides some interesting background on the auction, who owned the cars as well as the details for the two DeSotos in the auction. Note the '57 was pulled and did not sell, while most everything else sold with no reserve.
RM Auctions John Staluppi 2012 – Auction Report
RM Auctions, John Staluppi Collection, North Palm Beach, Florida, December 1, 2012
Report and photos by Rick Carey, Auction Editor
Single owner collections are always fun. The cars reflect the outlook of the person who assembled the collection. Often they’re well known and recognized by other collectors for their provenance.
So it was with some anticipation that I flew to Florida in late November for RM’s sale of John Staluppi’s collection. I wasn’t prepared for the superb environment he’d built for them, as impressive as any single owner’s collection I’ve seen, with a whole shadow box village around the periphery, a magnificent bar in the back corner and a breathtakingly detailed and landscaped Lionel O-gauge three-level model railroad setup too large to fit in single-car garage bay, all surrounding a beautifully restored 32-foot Herschell-Spillman carousel.
The trains brought $103,500, the carousel $460,000.
The cars brought, if it’s conceivable, even more.
John Staluppi has apparently scratched this itch and is going to turn his car collecting attention elsewhere. The Cars of Dreams Museum was sold out to the bare walls. Everything was offered without reserve and he ended up with over $10 million in his pocket to start his new collecting gig.
Naturally – except for one withdrawn lot – everything was sold, much of it for prices hard to conceive. $78,100 for a ’66 Mustang (2-barrel 289, automatic) convertible? It was frequently breathtaking, full retail and more.
But that’s part of the excitement of single-owner collection auctions. Buzz runs high and good sense is sometimes subsumed by exuberance.
113 cars were offered, all sold for a total of $10,421,950 with commission, an average of $92,230 and a median transaction of $82,500. 38 cars, 31%, sold for under the low estimate, but 19, 16.8%, sold for over the high estimate, sometimes way over. The low estimate on sold cars was $8,644,000; the hammer bids totaled $9,474,500, 109.6% of the low estimate.
Lot # 224 1956 DeSoto Fireflite Adventurer Convertible Coupe Design Study; S/N 50383976; Black/Gold vinyl, Beige cloth; Beige cloth top; Estimate $150,000 – $200,000; Rebodied or re-created, 2 condition; Hammered Sold at $142,500 plus commission of 10.00%; Final Price $156,750 — No Reserve. 341/320hp Hemi, dual quad intake, Powerflite, chrome wire wheels, whitewall tires, pushbutton radio, P/W, P/S, P/B, Hi-way Hi-Fi. Very good paint, chrome and interior. Done to very high standards, but only a rear view mirror view of what DeSoto could have built in 1956, i.e., there was no 1956 DeSoto Fireflite Adventurer Convertible built. Sold for $187,000 at Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale earlier this year, this is a cool car and one-of-a-kind. Its value is in the eye (and bank account) of the beholder and it’s impossible to argue with the Staluppi Collection bidders’ conclusion.
Lot # 225 1957 DeSoto Fireflite Adventurer Replica Convertible; S/N 50424347; Black/Beige vinyl, Gold cloth; Tan cloth top; Estimate $150,000 – $200,000; Older restoration, 3+ condition; Withdrawn — No Reserve. 345/345hp, automatic, P/S, P/B, chrome wire wheels, whitewall tires, pushbutton radio, P/W. An older restoration and upgrade to Adventurer trim and dual quad power. Good paint, chrome, interior and underhood but not fresh. On-site but clarified history in a saleroom notice and later withdrawn. Sold for $159,500 at Worldwide Houston in 2010 and $247,500 at Barrett-Jackson Palm Beach in 2011.