V8 Coupes With Style: 1959 DeSoto Adventurer vs 1975 Dino 308 GT4

Happy Friday, Autopians! It’s the final day of my salute to dead brands, and it’s time to take out that second (or third) mortgage, because we are blowing our normal price range sky-high today. Hey, it doesn’t hurt to dream once in a while, right? Today’s cars are both stylish two-door coupes, both with V8s, and curiously, both with one carburetor venturi for each of those eight cylinders.

Yesterday we looked at two brands that GM did dirty, and I’m glad to hear that you all miss them as much as I do. There were lots of good stories in the comments; clearly both Oldsmobile and Saturn hold a lot of nostalgia for a lot of us, but in the end, the Toronado took home the win.

I agree. Nothing wrong with a good Saturn wagon, but if I’m going to get something like that, it’s going to have a manual transmission. The Toronado is perfectly suited to its automatic, and it’s in such nice shape that you could proudly show it off on sunny days. I wouldn’t hesitate to drive it daily from a reliability standpoint, but it would be a shame to subject it to that much wear and tear.

I know the title of this feature is “Shitbox Showdown,” but every once in a while, I like to show you some things that are in no way, shape, or form shitboxes. I thought our Dead Brands theme was a good opportunity to do that again. But the sort of cars I had in mind aren’t for sale on Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace, so I’ve turned to that long-standing source of really cool classic cars for sale: Hemmings. Who else remembers when Hemmings was a big thick magazine, printed on cheap newsprint, with a brown cover? I miss those days. Well, at least the new online version is easier to search. Let’s check out our budget-busters for today.

1959 DeSoto Adventurer – $89,900

Engine/drivetrain: 383 cubic inch overhead valve V8, three-speed automatic, RWD

Location: St. Ann, MO

Odometer reading: 10,700 miles

Operational status: Runs and drives “wonderfully”

Walter Chrysler was serious about competing with General Motors in the late 1920s. GM had been absorbing other companies for years, and as a result, had a whole line of cars available at all price points. Chrysler had Dodge as a lower-priced alternative, and then created Plymouth in 1928 as an entry-level brand. DeSoto came along a year later, to fill in the middle ground between Dodge and Plymouth, and stuck around until 1961. In 1959, when this car was built, Chrysler actually had five brands at varying levels of fanciness – Plymouth, DeSoto, Dodge, Chrysler, and Imperial – all with Virgil Exner’s wide, low, futuristic “Forward Look” styling.

The Adventurer was the top model in DeSoto’s range, powered by a new-for-1959 383 cubic inch engine. It’s fed by two four-barrel carburetors, and puts out an impressive 350 horsepower – while sucking down gasoline like there’s no tomorrow. Backing this monster of an engine is a three-speed Torqueflite automatic, with push-button controls. This one is believed to only have 10,000 original miles on it. It runs and drives flawlessly, as you would expect for the price.

Looking back at these ’50s cars, you wonder how anybody ever survived a road trip: Three hundred and fifty horsepower, non-assisted drum brakes, bias-ply tires, and nary a seat belt in sight. But if you have to go, you may as well go in style, and in that regard this DeSoto doesn’t disappoint. Check out those swivel bucket seats; that’s a luxury feature that I’m surprised never caught on. How do Maybachs and Rolls-Royces not have swivel front seats? And they call themselves luxury cars. Pfft.

All of the Forward Look cars have a massive amount of presence; those wide front ends and long, sweeping tailfins can’t be matched for sheer grandeur. The Adventurer distinguished itself from lesser DeSotos with a special black-and-gold color scheme. This one has been restored, and it’s gorgeous. The Chrysler 300 letter-series cars are better-known, but this car is just as rare; only six hundred or so DeSoto Adventurers were sold in 1959.

1975 Dino 308 GT4 – $95,000

Engine/drivetrain: 2.9-liter dual overhead cam V8, five-speed manual, RWD

Location: Demarest, NJ

Odometer reading: 36,000 miles

Operational status: Runs and drives great

Alfredo “Dino” Ferrari joined the family business at a young age, and designed a small V6 race car engine that he never got to see. He died of muscular dystrophy in 1956. A year later, his father Enzo Ferrari honored him by naming that engine, and the race cars powered by it, after him. Ten years later, when Ferrari was looking to produce a lower-priced six-cylinder sports car to compete with the Porsche 911, it used the Dino name again, to distinguish the cheaper cars from Ferrari’s V12-powered cars. This lasted until 1976, when Ferrari finally abandoned the Dino name and sold the lower-end cars as Ferraris. So, technically, being a 1975 model, this is not a Ferrari.

The 308 GT4 was Ferrari’s first V8-powered car, with a 2.9 liter four-cam engine mounted transversely just ahead of the rear axle. It’s not a simple engine; it has two distributors, and four two-barrel Weber carburetors. When all that mechanical complexity is working properly, it makes a glorious sound, and puts out 240 horsepower to the rear wheels through a five-speed transaxle. This one has just been rebuilt, and it runs like it should. You might think that 36,000 miles is low for a car to need a rebuild, but keep in mind it is a Ferrari, in all but name.

Most Ferraris are red on the outside; this one is red on the inside – and wow, does it pop. I just want to jump right into this photo, close the door behind me, slide that gated gear lever into first, and head off into the sunset. The GT4 is a 2+2 coupe, with cramped-looking back seats like the later Mondial, so you can take more friends along for the ride. It’s in beautiful condition, and absolutely everything works, including the air conditioning.

The silver paint outside is a respray, and the 16-inch Campagnolo wheels are new. The big ugly side-marker lights required on US-spec cars are unfortunate, but it’s still a beautiful car, designed by Marcello Gandini at Bertone, rather than Pininfarina like other Ferraris. Actually, I think this might be my favorite of all the mid-engine V8 Ferrari body styles, so hats off to Bertone.

Yeah, I know – I don’t have ninety-plus grand to drop on a car either. But just for today, imagine you did. You have an uncle who left you a bunch of money on the condition that you treat yourself, or Netflix optioned that short story you wrote for the college literary magazine for mid-six-figures, or something. Which one are you going for – the peak of American Jet Age style, or the very first V8 Ferrari?