Facel Vega was a French builder of luxury cars. A logo ( Greek el λογότυπος = el-Latn logotypos is a graphical element ( Ideogram, Symbol, Emblem, Icon, Sign) This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Their advertising slogan: "For the Few Who Own the Finest".
The brand was created by Jean Daninos (brother of the humorist Pierre Daninos who wrote Les Carnets du Major Thomson). Jean Daninos ( 2 December 1906 – 13 October 2001) was a Greek- French constructor of luxury cars Facel Vega. Pierre Daninos ( May 26 1913 - January 7 2005) was a French writer and humorist Initially, FACEL (Forges et Ateliers de Construction d'Eure-et-Loir) was a metal-stamping company which decided to expand into car manufacturing in the early 1950s. Facel entered the automobile business as a supplier of special bodies for Panhard, Delahaye and Simca. Panhard is now a French manufacturer of light tactical and military vehicles The Delahaye Automobile manufacturing company was started by Emile Delahaye in 1894 in Tours, France. Simca redirects here for other uses of that term see SIMCA (disambiguation. Around 45,000 Simcas were built, this lucrative contract allowing Facel to market a car of their own. The first Facel Vega production cars appeared in 1954 using Chrysler V8 engines, at first a 4. Chrysler LLC is an American Automobile manufacturer that has been producing Automobiles since 1925 A V8 engine is a V engine with eight cylinders mounted on the Crankcase in two banks of four cylinders in most cases set at a right angle to each other 5 litre DeSoto Hemi engine; the overall engineering was straightforward, with a tubular chassis, double wishbone suspension at the front and a solid driven axle at the back, as in standard American practice. The litre or liter (see spelling differences) is a unit of Volume. The DeSoto (sometimes De Soto) was a brand of Automobile based in the United States, manufactured and marketed by the Chrysler Corporation A Chrysler Hemi engine, known by the trademark Hemi, is an Internal combustion engine built by Chrysler that utilizes a hemispherical The internal combustion engine is an engine in which the Combustion of Fuel and an Oxidizer (typically air occurs in a confined space called a In automobiles a double wishbone (or "upper and lower A-arm " suspension is an Independent suspension design using two (occasionally An axle is a central shaft for a rotating Wheel or Gear. In some cases the axle may be fixed in position with a bearing or Bushing They were also as heavy as American cars, at about 1,800 kg (4000 lb). The pound or pound-mass (abbreviation lb, lbm, or sometimes in the United States #) is a unit of Mass Performance was brisk, with an approx 190 km/h (120 mph) top speed and 0 to 100 km/h (60 mph) in just under ten seconds.
The bodywork was beautifully styled, making the Facel Vega an enduring classic. Classic car is a term frequently used to describe an older car, but the exact meaning is subject to differences in opinion Most cars were 2-door hardtops with no centre pillar, but a few convertibles were built. A hardtop is a term for a rigid rather than canvas Automobile roof A convertible is a type of automobile in which the vehicle's roof can retract and fold away converting it from an enclosed to an open-air vehicle
The 1956 model was improved with a bigger (5. 4 L) Chrysler engine and updated transmission and other mechanicals; in the same year a 4-door model, the Excellence, with rear-hinged doors (suicide doors) at the back and no centre pillar, was also produced. A suicide door is a Car door that is hinged on the edge closer to the rear of the vehicle known as the trailing edge Its pillarless design unfortunately made it less rigid and the handling was thus poorer than the 2-door cars, and they are rare. Design is used both as a Noun and a Verb. The term is often tied to the various Applied arts and Engineering (See design disciplines
1959 models had even bigger engines, a 5. 8 L and later a 6. 3 L Chrysler V8, and were quite a bit faster despite their extra weight.
The final evolution came in 1962 with the Facel II; lighter, with sleeker, more modern lines, and substantially faster still.
In 1960, Facel entered the sports car market with the Facellia, a small car along the lines of the then popular Mercedes 190SL. A sports car is a term used to describe a class of Automobile. The Mercedes-Benz 300SL was introduced in 1954 as a two-seat closed Sports car with characteristic Gull-wing doors Later it was offered as an open Facellias were advertised in three body styles: cabriolet, 2+2 coupé and 4-seat coupé — all with the same mechanicals and a 96. 5" wheelbase. Styling was similar to the Facel HK500, but with rather elegant (though fingernail-breaking) flush door handles. Following Facel Vega's demise several of M Daninos's styling cues were "borrowed" by Mercedes Benz.
With the idea of creating a mass produced all-French sports car competing with the Alfa-Romeos, Facel eschewed its standard of American engines, and the Facellia used a 4 cyl 1. Alfa Romeo Automobiles SpA is an Italian Automaker founded in 1910 6 L DOHC engine built in France by Paul Cavalier of Pont-à-Mousson. Pont-à-Mousson is a commune of northeastern France, in the Meurthe-et-Moselle département. The engine had only two bearings supporting each camshaft, using special steels, as opposed to the usual four or five. The camshaft is an apparatus often used in Piston engines to operate Poppet valves It consists of a cylindrical rod running the length of the Cylinder bank Despite the metallurgical experience of Pont-à-Mousson, this resulted in excessive flex, timing problems and frequent failures. The engine was pronounced a disaster and the Facellia with it. The troublesome engine was replaced with a Volvo P1800 powerplant in the Facel III, but the damage was done. The Volvo P1800 is a classic sports car from Volvo. History The project was started in 1957 because Volvo wanted a Sports car, despite Production was stopped in 1963 and despite the vision of it being a "volume" car only 1100 were produced, which is Facel's highest production number. Facel lost money on every car they built, the luxury car side of the company being supported entirely by the other work done by Facel Metallon, Jean Daninos's obsession being very similar to that of David Brown of Aston Martin.
The small Facellia met with little success and the losses from this, due to strong competition at the luxury end of the market, killed off the company. Facel exited the car market completely in 1964. What was, according to some, the best small Facel, the Facel 6, which used an Austin Healey 2. 8 litre engine, came too late to save the company, fewer than 30 having been produced when the French government scuttled the endeavour.
Being expensive luxury cars many Facels survive and they are by now quite desirable, and given the mass-produced American mechanicals, easier to maintain than many. Facellias are not difficult to find, though examples with the original Pont-à-Mousson engine are quite rare.
The French writer Albert Camus died in an auto accident in a Facel Vega belonging to his publisher. Albert Camus ( (7 November 1913 – 4 January 1960 was an Algerian born French Author, philosopher, and journalist who won the Nobel prize Other owners include Pablo Picasso, Ava Gardner, Ringo Starr, Joan Fontaine, Stirling Moss, Tony Curtis, Maurice Trintignant and several Saudi princes. Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Martyr Patricio Clito Ruíz y Picasso (October 25 1881 &ndash April 8 1973 Ava Lavinia Gardner ( December 24, 1922 – January 25, 1990) was an Academy Award -nominated American actress Ringo Starr, MBE (born Richard Starkey on 7 July 1940 is an English Musician, Singer, Songwriter and Actor Joan Fontaine (born October 22, 1917) is an Academy Award -winning British Actress in American films Sir Stirling Craufurd Moss OBE (born September 17, 1929 in London) is a retired racing driver from England. Tony Curtis (born Bernard Schwartz June 3, 1925) is an American film actor Maurice Bienvenu Jean Paul Trintignant ( 30 October 1917, Sainte-Cécile-les-Vignes, Vaucluse &ndash 13 February 2005, [1] Race-car driver Stirling Moss would drive his HK500 from event to event rather than fly. Sir Stirling Craufurd Moss OBE (born September 17, 1929 in London) is a retired racing driver from England.
Models
- Facel Vega HK 500
- Facel Vega II
- Facel Vega Excellence
- Facellia
- Facel III
- Facel 6
External links
- The Facel Véga Home Page
- Facel Vega Club Germany + Spare Parts!
- Videos with Facel Vega´s!
- Motorbase profile
- CanadianDriver profile
- Facel Vega article on Allpar
- Retro Website about Facel Vega
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