Editing Facel Vega (section)

==Facel Vega==
[[File:Bentley Facel Coupe1.jpg|thumb|Facel-Metallon bodied 1951 [[Bentley Mark VI]]]]
The Facel Vega marque was created on 22 July 1954 by [[Jean Daninos]], (brother of the humorist [[Pierre Daninos]], who wrote ''[[Les Carnets du Major Thompson]]''), although the Facel company had been established by the Bronzavia Company in 1939 as a subcontracting company for the aviation industry. FACEL (Forges et Ateliers de Construction d'Eure-et-Loir, ''in English: forge and construction workshop of the [[Departments of France|department]] of [[Eure-et-Loir]]'') was initially a metal-stamping company but it expanded into car manufacturing in the early 1950s.<ref name="cars-in-profile">{{cite web|url=http://www.facel-vega.com/mageng1.shtml|title=The Facel Vega 1954 - 1964|first1=Michael|last1=Sedgwick|access-date=2015-02-03|archive-date=2018-05-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180511152448/http://www.facel-vega.com/mageng1.shtml|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Facel entered the automobile business as a supplier of special bodies for [[Panhard]], [[Delahaye]] and [[Simca]]. The company was headquartered in Paris at 19 Avenue George V, and had the main assembly factory in [[Colombes]] at 132 Boulevard de Valmy, with parts supplied from the outskirts of the city in [[Amboise]], [[Dreux]] and [[Puteaux]].<ref>{{cite web |title=American In Paris: Dana's Dad Ordered this '63 Facel in France |url=https://www.thetransmission.com/2019/08/19/an-american-in-paris-danas-dad-ordered-this-1963-facel-in-france/ |website=The Transmission |date=19 August 2019 |publisher=The Transmission |access-date=15 August 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Facel Vega founder Jean Daninos vainly hoped his modified personal 1960 Facellia 2+2 could save the company |url=https://www.hemmings.com/stories/2021/06/04/facel-vega-founder-jean-daninos-vainly-hoped-his-modified-personal-1960-facellia-22-could-save-the-company |website=Hemmings |publisher=American City Business Journals |access-date=16 August 2021}}</ref>

===Facel Vega FV, HK500 and Facel Vega II===
{{main|Facel Vega FV}}
{{main|Facel Vega Excellence}}
{{main|Facel Vega Facel II}}
[[File:Facel Vega 1961 Castle Hedingham 2008.JPG|thumb|Facel Vega HK500 1961]]
The Vega production cars ([[Facel Vega FV|FV]], later and more famously the HK500) first appeared in October 1954 at the [[Paris Motor Show|Salon de l'Automobile Paris]] using [[Chrysler]] V8 engines because no French company at the time produced an engine that met the company's objectives. Initially, a {{cvt|276|cuin|L|1|order=flip|adj=on}} [[DeSoto (automobile)|DeSoto]] [[Chrysler Hemi engine#DeSoto|Hemi engine]] was installed, while the overall engineering was straightforward, with a tubular chassis, [[double wishbone suspension]] at the front and a [[Beam axle|live axle]] at the back, as in standard American practice. They were also as heavy as American cars, at about {{convert|1800|kg|lb|0|abbr=on}}. Performance was brisk, with a top speed of around {{convert|190|km/h|mi/h|0|abbr=on}} and 0 to {{convert|100|km/h|mi/h|0|abbr=on}} in just under 10 seconds.

Most cars were two-door [[hardtop]]s with no centre pillar, but a few [[Convertible (car)|convertibles]] were built for special customers (including Daninos' wife: eleven of the FV series and a single HK500 were drop tops, out of 842 built in total) in spite of Daninos' dislike of the bodystyle due to its lack of structural rigidity.<ref name=Retro0850>{{cite magazine | title = Un parcours limpide | trans-title = A clear course | language = fr | page = 50 | ref = GB08 | first = Gilles | last = Bonnafous | magazine = Rétroviseur | date = October 2008 | number = 238 | publisher = Éditions LVA | location = Fontainebleau, France | issn = 0992-5007 }}</ref> Fully 77 percent of the production was exported, due to the punitive [[Tax horsepower]] system in France.<ref name="cars-in-profile"/>

The 1956 model was improved with a bigger {{cvt|331|cuin|L|1|order=flip|adj=on}} [[Chrysler Hemi engine#Chrysler and Imperial|Chrysler Hemi engine]] and updated transmission and other mechanicals. In the same year, production began of a four-door model, the ''Excellence'', with rear-hinged doors ([[suicide door]]s) at the back and no centre pillar. The pillarless [[design]] unfortunately made it less rigid and the handling was thus poorer than that of the two-door cars, and surviving examples are rare.

1959 models had even bigger engines, a {{cvt|5.8|L|cuin|0|adj=on}} and later a {{cvt|6.28|L|cuin|0|adj=on}} [[Chrysler B engine#383|Chrysler Typhoon engine]], and were quite a bit faster despite their extra weight. The final evolution of the V8 models came in 1962 with the [[Facel Vega II]], which was lighter, with sleeker, more modern lines, substantially faster, and famously elegant.

===Facellia===
[[File:Facel Vega.jpg|thumb|right|Facellia F2, 1961 to 1963]]
[[File:Facel-III-av.jpg|thumb|right|Facel III]]
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-Benz 190SL|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 {{convert|2450|mm|in|1|abbr=on}} 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.{{citation needed|date=August 2018}} Prices were roughly [[United States dollar|US$]]4,000 for the Facellia (${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|4000|1960}}}} in {{Inflation-year|US}} dollars {{inflation-fn|US}}), US$5,500 for the Facel III (${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|5000|1960}}}} in {{Inflation-year|US}} dollars {{inflation-fn|US}}) and US$6,000 for the Facel 6 (${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|6000|1960}}}} in {{Inflation-year|US}} dollars {{inflation-fn|US}}).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nadaguides.com |title=New Car Prices and Used Car Book Values |publisher=NADAguides |access-date=2016-05-15}}</ref>

With the idea of creating a mass-produced all-French sports car competing with the [[Alfa Romeo Giulietta (750/101)|Alfa Romeo Giulietta]], the [[Triumph TR3]] and [[Porsche 356]]B, Facel moved away from Chrysler engines because Chrysler didn't offer a four-cylinder engine at the time. Instead, the Facellia had a four-cylinder 1.6&nbsp;L twin-cam engine designed by former [[Talbot-Lago]] chief engineer Carlo Machetti, who won at Le Mans, along with the advice of famed English cylinder-head guru [[Harry Weslake]],<ref>{{cite book|title= The Encyclopedia of the Car | page = 224| first = Chris | last = Horton | isbn = 1-840670533}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/motors/marquetime-facel-vega-1.1159678?mode=amp|title=Marque Time - Facel Vega|publisher=The Irish Times|date=29 September 2004|access-date=4 March 2021}}</ref> and built in France by Paul Cavallier of the Pont-à-Mousson company (which already provided manual gear boxes for the company's larger models) so as to be compliant with the punitive [[Tax horsepower#France|French horsepower tax]] system and increase sales.<ref name="cars-in-profile"/> The engine had only two [[Bearing (mechanical)|bearing]]s supporting each [[camshaft]], using special steels, as opposed to the usual four or five. Despite the metallurgical experience of Pont-à-Mousson, this resulted in excessive flex, timing problems, and frequent engine failures.

Famed engineers [[Charles Deutsch]] and [[Jean Bertin]] were called in to solve the issues, but it was not enough and the engine was pronounced a disaster and the Facellia with it.<ref name=IMS362>{{cite magazine | title = Från skilda fronter |trans-title=From different fronts | page = 28 | language = sv | editor-last = Björklund | editor-first = Bengt | location = Lerum, Sweden | magazine = Illustrerad Motor Sport | number = 3 | date = March 1962 }}</ref> The updated Facellia F2 was presented at the March 1961 [[Geneva Motor Show]]. Company president, Jean Daninos having been obliged to resign in August 1961 in response to the company's financial problems, the new boss, a former oil company executive called André Belin, gave strict instructions to the after-sales department to respond to customer complaints about broken Facellia engines by replacing the units free of charge without creating "difficulties".<ref name=Automobilia1962>{{cite journal| title =Automobilia| journal = Toutes les voitures françaises 1962 (Salon Paris oct 1961)| volume = 19| page = 34|year = 1200|publisher=Histoire & collections|location=Paris }}</ref> The strategy was intended to restore confidence among the company's customer base.<ref name=Automobilia1962/>  It would certainly have created a large hole in the income statement under the "warranty costs" heading, but it may have been too late for customer confidence.

;Volvo engine

The troublesome powerplant was replaced with a [[Volvo B18 engine]] in the Facel III, but the damage was done. Production was stopped in 1963 and despite the vision of it being a "volume" car, only 1,100 were produced - still enough to make this Facel's highest production number. Facel lost money on every car they built, with the luxury car side of the company being supported entirely by the other work done by Facel Metallon.{{citation needed|date=August 2018}}

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. 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 with fewer than 30 having been produced when the financial guarantors withdrew their support.

===Prominence===
Prominent owners of Facel Vegas (mainly of Facel IIs) included [[Pablo Picasso]], [[Ava Gardner]], [[Christian Dior]], [[Herb Alpert]], [[Joan Collins]], [[Ringo Starr]], [[Max Factor]] Jr, [[Joan Fontaine]], [[Stirling Moss]], [[Tony Curtis]], several [[Saudi Arabia|Saudi]] princes, [[Dean Martin]], [[Fred Astaire]], [[Danny Kaye]], [[Louis Malle]], The [[President of Mexico]], [[François Truffaut]], [[Robert Wagner]], [[Anthony Quinn]], [[Hassan II of Morocco|Hassan II, King of Morocco]], [[Debbie Reynolds]], the [[Mohammad Reza Pahlavi|Shah of Iran]], [[Frank Sinatra]], [[Maurice Trintignant]], [[Brian Rix]], Joe Hepworth and French Embassies around the world.<ref>Hervé Alphand, the French Ambassador to the United States, used theirs, an Excellence, from 1956 to 1965. It was sold @ Bonhams in Philadelphia 8 Oct 2012 for $159,000.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQrwbzDTvSQ  |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/tQrwbzDTvSQ| archive-date=2021-12-11 |url-status=live|title=Top Gear Facel Vega HK500 |publisher=YouTube |date=2009-07-26 |access-date=2016-05-15}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070302/FREE/70223002/1027/FREE|title=1959 Facel Vega HK500: For the Few Who Own the Finest|first1=Eric|last1=Tegler|date=March 1, 2007|magazine=[[Autoweek]]}}</ref>  Race-car driver [[Stirling Moss]] would drive his HK500 from event to event rather than fly.

French writer and Nobel Prize winner [[Albert Camus]] died in a Facel Vega FV2 driven by his publisher's nephew, [[Michel Gallimard]].<ref>{{Citation |last=Smith |first=Patrick |title=Lost Star Cars: The Albert Camus Facel Vega |date=2014-12-21 |url=https://phscollectorcarworld.blogspot.com/2014/12/lost-star-cars-albert-camus-facel-vega.html |publisher= |access-date=2021-04-19}}</ref> At the time of his death, Camus had planned to travel by train, with his wife and children, but at the last minute accepted Gallimard's proposal to travel with him instead.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.raimes.com/seminar.htm |title=KIAD MA in Fine Art: a student run seminar |publisher=Raimes.com |access-date=2009-10-17 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090513004641/http://www.raimes.com/seminar.htm |archive-date=May 13, 2009 }}</ref>

===Models===
*[[Facel Vega FV]]
*[[Facel Vega HK500]]
*[[Facel Vega II]]
*[[Facel Vega Excellence]]
*[[Facel Vega Facellia]]
*[[Facel III]]
*[[Facel 6]]