Established by the Bronzavia Company in 1939  FACEL (Forges et Ateliers de Construction d'Eure-et-Loir). In 1954 it was dubbed the ‘Vega built by Facel’.

Facel S.A. was a French manufacturer of steel furniture and pressed steel components, later complete automobiles to their own design, founded in 1939 to make components for Bronzavia's military aircraft. In 1945, in conjunction with Métallon Facel, they began to make short-run special bodies, coupés or cabriolets, for Simca, Ford, Panhard and Delahaye. Approximately 2900 cars of all models were hand-built in Facel's short life.

 

Headquarters Paris, France 

fv1b  1955-1959

The Facel Vega FV/FVS (for Facel Vega Sport) is a car produced by French automaker Facel from 1954 until 1959. It continued until 1962 as the HK500. The FV1 was Facel Vegas second model which was an updated version of the FV. It was made in limited production and to a very high standard. Power for the car came from Chrysler’s Firedome V8. The Chrysler 4.5 litre Hemi V8 engine had an output of 180 bhp in 1954.  For 1958, the engine grew to 5.8 litres (FV4) and 325 hp, although the earlier 4.5 and a 4.9 (FV3/FV3B) were also listed as available. In total, 357 FVs and FVSs were built.

excellence  1958-1964

The Facel Vega Excellence is a luxury saloon automobile produced by French manufacturer Facel Vega, that was unveiled at the Paris Auto Show in October 1956.

Production started in 1958 and lasted until the company ceased production in 1964. The car was based on an elongated chassis from the Facel Vega FV Coupé. It was the only four-door model the company ever made. Production ended after only 156 cars had been built. The low production figure is likely a result of the car's high purchase price.  

The initial Excellences were fitted with Hemi engines, which Chrysler discontinued for the 1958 model year. Facel-Vega continued to use those engines until their stocks were used up in late 1958. From then on, V8 powered Facel-Vega models were powered by the Chrysler B-series "Wedge" big-block engines. The 1958 to 1961 Excellences were the most numerous of the bunch with 137 examples being built.

facellia  1960-1962

In 1960, Facel entered the sports car market with the Facellia, with a premiere at the Paris Motor Show in 1959. It was a small car similar in size to the then popular Mercedes 190SL. Facellias were advertised in three body styles: cabriolet, 2+2 coupé and 4-seat coupé — all with the same mechanical parts and a 2,450 mm wheelbase. Styling was similar to the Facel HK500, but with rather elegant (though fingernail-breaking) flush door handles.

With the idea of creating a mass-produced all-French sports car competing with the Alfa Romeo Giulietta, the Triumph TR3 and Porsche 356B, Facel moved away from Chrysler engines because they didn't offer a four-cylinder engine at the time. Instead, the Facellia had a four-cylinder 1.6 L twin-cam engine designed by former Talbot-Lago chief engineer Carlo Machetti. 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 business which closed its doors at the end of October 1964.

facel II  1962-1964

The Facel Vega 'Facel II' is a grand touring car produced by French automaker Facel Vega between the years 1962 and 1964.

By 1962, the Paris-based company was facing bankruptcy. The Facel II was to be the company's last attempt to create a luxury GT car in the French tradition. Jean Daninos, president, said of the Facel II, "The HK 500 was the most interesting car we ever made but the Facel II was by far the best. It was totally 'elegant' ."

The Facel II was introduced at the 1961 Paris Motor Show, and was powered by a Chrysler 6.3 litre  'Typhoon' engine which produced 355 hp  if equipped with a TorqueFlite automatic-gearbox, or 390 hp  with a manual transmission. Using Chrysler's three-speed automatic gearbox, the 6.3-litre Facel II could reach a top speed of over 225 km/h. In 1964 the Facel company went into receivership, largely due to warranty claims against Facel Vega's smaller Facellia with its troublesome 'in-house' engine. As a result, Facel II production had to be discontinued with only 180  Facel IIs ever built.

1939-1961

1961-1964

Create Your Own Website With JouwWeb