The Valiant was less radical in configuration than General Motors' compact Chevrolet Corvair, which had an air-cooled rear-mounted engine, but was considered more aesthetically daring than the also-new Falcon and Studebaker Lark compacts, which had more conventional looks; the Valiant boasted a radical design that continued Exner's Forward Look styling with "sleek, crisp lines which flow forward in a dart or wedge shape." The flush-sided appearance was a carried-over feature from Chrysler's Ghia-built D'Elegance and Adventurer concept cars which also gave the Valiant additional inches of interior room. The Valiant's styling was new, yet with specific design elements that tied it to other contemporary Chrysler products, such as the canted tailfins tipped with cat's-eye shaped tail lamps and the simulated Continental spare tire pressed into the trunk lid that were thematically similar to those on the Imperial and the 300F. According to Exner, the stamped wheel design was used not only to establish identity with other Chryslers, but to "dress up the rear deck area without detracting from the look of directed forward motion."