While the brand was not long for this world in 1959, DeSoto unveiled a remarkably forward-looking concept vehicle, the hydrogen-powered Cella I.

By January of 1959, there was already talk around the executive offices at Chrysler about eliminating the DeSoto brand, and as we know, the division was killed off once and for all on November 30, 1960. But that didn’t stop the debut of this remarkably forward-leaning vehicle, a pet project of DeSoto chief engineer A.E. “Kim” Kimberly (shown above). The father of the DeSoto Adventurer, among his accomplishments, Kimberly called the idea  car the Cella I, after its advanced form of propulsion: a hydrogen-oxygen fuel cell.

To call the fuel-cell propulsion systems of 1959 advanced is probably off the mark. Theoretical could be a more accurate term. While the concept was first demonstrated back in 1842 by Sir William Grove, fuel-cell power as we know it didn’t begin to take off until a century later with the work of British scientist Francis Thomas Bacon. Licensing his work,  Pratt & Whiney formed the UTC Power division in 1958 to develop the fuel-cell technology eventually used by NASA. Acordingly, the publicity materials prepared for the Cella I were vague in the extreme, describing the power source as simply “an electrochemical principle, based on new scientific developments.”

In a nutshell: The H2-O2 fuel-cell unit (never pictured, but it apparently fit under the hood) would drive four electric motors, one for each wheel, driven by stub axles and universal joints. Thus four-wheel drive was achieved without need of a transmission or differential, and regenerative braking was described as part of the package. However, there is no record of any attempts at a working prototype. The Cella I existed only in renderings and as a 3/8 scale model.

The proposed cockpit for the Cella I included DeSoto’s then-current swivel bucket seats, a yoke-style steering control, and a periscopic rear-view mirror that eliminated the need for a backlite. Electric power for the  heater and defroster were supplied by the fuel cell, which also powered a small refrigerator for snacks and beverages. The two rear-facing passengers could view a swing-out television or listen to a stereo audio system.

The Cella I made its first appearance to the public at the Chicago Auto Show on January 22, 1960, where it was described in the press release as “an idea car which might be seem within a generation.” While DeSoto would soon be out of business, there are a few hydogen fuel-cell vehicles in limited production today, most notably the Toyota Mirai.