The shear strength characterization of bonded joints involving adherends with a remarkably different stiffness has a peculiar interest in industrial applications. This work proposes and investigates three innovative specimens (an axisymmetric annular, a tensile and a torsional one) purposely developed to manage dissimilar adherends bonded with adhesive in thin film. A Thick Adherend Shear Test specimen between rigid adherends is used for the assessment of the adhesive by itself. The work focuses on metal-elastomeric polyurethane bonded joints with a solventbased adhesive. All the tests are performed through an axial dynamometer, using a purposely developed fixture to convert the tensile load in a torque for the torsional specimen. The tensile and the torsional specimens provide the most reliable shear strength characterization.