1956 DeSoto Fireflyte Convertible

DeSoto, like many automobile manufacturers, were heavily involved in the war effort and indeed were responsible for the assembly of the fuselage sections for the Martin B26 Marauder amongst many other important war machines. The transference back to a civilian factory with appropriate tooling did not take place until 1946 but DeSoto’s first real post-war model appeared in 1949 as “The Car With You in Mind.”

DeSoto’s top line, the Fireflyte, was introduced in 1955. It offered avant-guard aeronautically inspired styling, which was coupled to a 200 hp four-barrel V8 engine with hemispherical segment combustion chambers.

The 1956 DeSoto Fireflyte Convertible pictured here was apparently purchased new by a doctor from Bremen from whom Mr. James Becker of Elkhart, Indiana, purchased it in 1960, using the car regularly until 1974. In the files accompanying this car it is noted that Mr. Becker “blew her up” in 1968 while drag racing. When the...