Photo: Bill Vance

Facel Vega
by Bill Vance

The attraction of large, powerful, American engines in sporty European, principally British, bodies has produced a variety of hybrids over the years. In the 1930s there were Hudson-powered Railtons and Brough Superiors. In the 1950s and '60s came the Nash-Healey, Cadillac-Allard, Chrysler-powered Jensen Interceptor, and Ford-powered Sunbeam Tigers and AC Shelby Cobras.

Our subject is Franco-American, not Anglo-American. In the early 1950s, wealthy motoring enthusiast and industrialist Jean Daninos decided to enter the car business. His Paris-based company, Forges et ateliers de construction d'Eure et de Loire, or FACEL, made everything from kitchen sinks to jet engine combustion chambers. It also produced car bodies for several companies.

Daninos wanted to build a very special vehicle in the Grand Touring style, one that would recapture France's pre-war GT splendour as exemplified by the big Bugattis, Delages and Delahayes that swiftly and elegantly whisked their well off owners down to a Riviera week-end. Those grand GTs died out in France after the Second World War due to the war's devastation, and brutal taxes on engines over 2.8 litres. Daninos sought to recapture that glory by combining luxurious road travel with prodigious performance, and saw an American engine as the answer.

After initially using Bentley chassis to build a few cars, Daninos started building his own for his Facel Vega, as he named it. Engineering was pretty straightforward. Its tubular frame was strong enough to accommodate a big American V-8. Suspension was by coil springs and A-arms in front and a solid axle with leaf springs in the rear. A 180-horsepower 4.5 litre DeSoto "Hemi" V-8 engine sent its power to the rear wheels through a Chrysler two-speed "PowerFlite" automatic transmission, or a Pont-a-Mousson four-speed manual.

These mechanicals were clothed in a low, attractive coupe (a few convertibles were also made), somewhat reminiscent of the French Simca. Pillarless design gave a hardtop convertible look. A steel body with stainless steel exterior trim, plus the rugged construction, resulted in a weight close to 1,814 kg (4,000 lb). It was introduced in 1954.

The interior, as befitted the GT genre, was luxurious. Simulated wood, deep carpets and leather abounded, and a full set of instruments and deeply dished steering wheel gave it an air of sumptuousness. All of this did not come cheap; Facel Vega prices, in the $8,000 to $10,000 range, were close to some Rolls-Royce models.

With its big V-8, the Facel Vega was fast. Road & Track magazine (12/56) recorded zero a to 96 km/h (60 mph) in 9.3 seconds, and a top speed average of 195 km/h (121 mph). This was excellent performance for that era, especially for such a heavy car.

The Facel Vega received mechanical upgrades along the way, such as Chrysler's 3-speed "TorqueFlite" automatic transmission, and power steering and brakes.

For 1956 the Facel Vega Sport was powered by a more potent 5.4 litre, 325 horsepower Chrysler engine. The Facel Vega Excellence, a formal long-wheelbase four-door, pillarless, hardtop version launched in 1957, was continued until 1964. It suffered from lack of body rigidity and sold in limited numbers.

In 1959 the Facel Vega Sport became the Facel Vega HK500, first with the 5.8 litre Chrysler V-8, then switching to the even larger Chrysler 6.3-litre V-8 pumping out 360 horsepower. Road & Track (7/60) tested one fitted with an automatic transmission and found it faster than the original in top speed, now 210 km/h (130 mph), but at 9.7 seconds, a little slower in acceleration to 96 (60), due no doubt to its now almost 1,905 kg (4,200 lb) weight. They estimated a top speed of 227 km/h (140 mph) for the four-speed model.

The last of Facel Vega's large cars, the Facel II, came in 1962. It was a beautiful design, with more glass than previously, and although about the same size as the HK500, it somehow seemed lower and sleeker. The windshield was less severely wrapped, and stacked quad headlamps gave the front end a distinctive and purposeful appearance.

Thanks to lower weight at 1,633 kg (3,600 lb), the Facel II was even faster, estimates putting the top speed near 242 km/h (150 mph), with zero to 96 (60) about a second faster than the HK500. Many consider the Facel II to be the best Facel Vega of all.

In 1959 Daninos had also moved into the popular sports car market with the smaller Facellia to compete with the likes of MG and Triumph. Although an attractive convertible, its 1.6 litre 4-cylinder, twin cam engine proved unreliable. Replacing it with a 1.8 litre Volvo four and a new Facel III name helped. Facel 6 with an Austin-Healey 3000 six, reduced to 2.8 litres for tax reasons, was even tried, but it was too late to recover from the Facellia's tarnished reputation.

Heavy small-car losses, and strong competition from such large sports cars as Bristol, Aston Martin and Ferrari, resulted in the liquidation of Facel Vega's automotive enterprise in 1964. Over a decade, more than 1,000 of the big Facel Vegas had been built. They are now sought-after collectibles.

Reflections on Automotive History by Bill Vance, Volumes I, II & III available through www.billvanceautohistory.ca

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