Facel Vega HK 500 - 1960
The Facel Vega was a typical example of French overconfidence. After the Second World War, the French car industry was in a mess. Shortages of materials, high taxes and the after-effects of the German occupation meant that during the 1950s even brands like Peugeot and Renault found it hard to make luxury models that were worth the name. This, thought Jean Daninos, was his moment for fame and glory. His Facel metal pressing workshop – Facel stood for Forges et Ateliers de Construction d’Eure-et-Loire – was already providing coachwork for such respected names as Delahaye and Simca. In 1953, Daninos decided to design his own luxury car, to the name of which he added the suffix Vega, at the suggestion of his brother Pierre, the author. Daninos couldn’t find a suitable engine in France and so he did a deal with Chrysler for the engine used in their De Soto model. However, the sale of the first two-door version was only modest, not helped by the heavy tax on the imported engines, which made a Facel Vega more expensive than a Rolls-Royce. But Daninos was no quitter and pressed on with his plans for a four-door model, the HK 500 Excellence, launched in 1959. It was a beast of a car, but a magnificent beast. With 360 horsepower under the bonnet, it combined American brawn with Italian beauty.
Mahy was able to buy his silver-grey Facel Vega at a bargain price in 1972. By this time, the company had been out of business for some eight years. Daninos had built fewer than 3,000 cars in a decade, but had already run up massive debts. Not even a last loan running into millions from the Credit National could save him. In 1964, the receivers were called in. Four years earlier, the brand experienced the most famous (but not the happiest) moment in its history, when the author and Nobel Prize winner Albert Camus died in the passenger seat of a Facel Vega driven by his friend Michel Gallimard. At the time of the accident, the car was said to be doing 180 kilometres per hour. Another example of French overconfidence.
Engine : Chrysler
6.286 cc
V8
330 hp
Mahy - a Family of Cars
09/09/2021 - 31/10/2021
Vynckier Site
Nieuwevaart 51-53
Gent
België - Belgique - Belgium - Belgien
Facel Vega HK 500 - 1960
The Facel Vega was a typical example of French overconfidence. After the Second World War, the French car industry was in a mess. Shortages of materials, high taxes and the after-effects of the German occupation meant that during the 1950s even brands like Peugeot and Renault found it hard to make luxury models that were worth the name. This, thought Jean Daninos, was his moment for fame and glory. His Facel metal pressing workshop – Facel stood for Forges et Ateliers de Construction d’Eure-et-Loire – was already providing coachwork for such respected names as Delahaye and Simca. In 1953, Daninos decided to design his own luxury car, to the name of which he added the suffix Vega, at the suggestion of his brother Pierre, the author. Daninos couldn’t find a suitable engine in France and so he did a deal with Chrysler for the engine used in their De Soto model. However, the sale of the first two-door version was only modest, not helped by the heavy tax on the imported engines, which made a Facel Vega more expensive than a Rolls-Royce. But Daninos was no quitter and pressed on with his plans for a four-door model, the HK 500 Excellence, launched in 1959. It was a beast of a car, but a magnificent beast. With 360 horsepower under the bonnet, it combined American brawn with Italian beauty.
Mahy was able to buy his silver-grey Facel Vega at a bargain price in 1972. By this time, the company had been out of business for some eight years. Daninos had built fewer than 3,000 cars in a decade, but had already run up massive debts. Not even a last loan running into millions from the Credit National could save him. In 1964, the receivers were called in. Four years earlier, the brand experienced the most famous (but not the happiest) moment in its history, when the author and Nobel Prize winner Albert Camus died in the passenger seat of a Facel Vega driven by his friend Michel Gallimard. At the time of the accident, the car was said to be doing 180 kilometres per hour. Another example of French overconfidence.
Engine : Chrysler
6.286 cc
V8
330 hp
Mahy - a Family of Cars
09/09/2021 - 31/10/2021
Vynckier Site
Nieuwevaart 51-53
Gent
België - Belgique - Belgium - Belgien