How many DeSoto Fireflites are left in New Zealand?
Super rare 1 in 519,430 on the road Built 1955-1959 American
Updated from the NZTA Motor Vehicle Register, counted as at 31 August 2026. Recounted every month.
Introduced for 1955 as the top DeSoto, in the first year of Virgil Exner's Forward Look styling. A Fireflite convertible paced the 1956 Indianapolis 500, and the 1957 cars, with their soaring fins and triple tail lamps, are the DeSotos most people picture. It ran until 1960.
Still on the road, by model year
The most are from 1955: 5 still registered. Every year is listed under the chart.
Every model year
| Model year | Still registered |
|---|---|
| 1955 | 5 |
| 1957 | 3 |
| 1959 | 1 |
What Super rare means
Spotto grades every car by how many are still registered in New Zealand. With 9 still registered, the DeSoto Fireflite is Super rare: the grade for cars with 5 to 24 left.
By how many are left it ranks equal 3rd of the 11 DeSoto models and equal 2,014th of all 2,903 cars in Spotto's catalogue.
The six grades: Common, 8,000 or more · Uncommon, 1,200 to 7,999 · Scarce, 175 to 1,199 · Rare, 25 to 174 · Super rare, 5 to 24 · Unicorn, fewer than 5.
Seen one?
Spotto grades every car on New Zealand roads by how many are still registered, down to the generation and the badge. Log the ones you spot, build a collection, and see who else has found one.