Automobile Company Facel-vega of The Designer From France

The French company “Facel” made bodies for companies “Panar”, “SIM CARD” and “Ford”. The head of company “Facel” Jean Daninos in 1954 has decided that the company should begin manufacture of own cars. These cars hadn’t something in common with usual French cars, including the sports. The car named Facel-Vega, exclusively high quality distinguished. Jean Daninos collected the cars from the mechanical knots made in the USA as considered their mechanics exclusively reliable. Company “Facel-Vega” cars were one of the most beautiful on roads of Europe. Cars on the chassis with a tubular frame at first had the 4,5-liter engine «De Soto», but were soon completed with engines “Chrysler”. At that time in the USA struggle of capacities has inflamed. Developers of these French cars tried not to lag behind that illustrates resulted below figure:

Year                       Working volume of                       Capacity 
                               the engine, sm3                          of h.p. At rpm

1954                      4524                                            180/4000

1955                      4768                                            203/4400   

                              5407                                            250/4600

1956                      4940                                            253/4600

1958                      5907                                            360/5200

Except spacious compartments 2+2, the model of Ekselens with a four-door body a sedan was issued also. For 1958-1963 has appeared only 152 copies of this model. Back doors opened “on the contrary”. As the rack between forward and back doors was absent, it facilitated landing and disembarkation from the car. Unfortunately, it did a design fragile, and soon there were problems with closing of doors.

Daninos constantly accused of creation of “hybrids”, after all such companies as “Ferrari”, “Jaguar”, “Maserati” and “Aston Martin”, had own engines, and the car of mark “Facel” had a cheap motor from America. This criticism didn’t give to Jean Dan and a rest nose, and in 1959 it has presented completely the French model of Facel-Vega with bodies of a compartment and a cabriolet.

 Instead of the American engine V8 the model has been equipped four-cylinder which along with a transmission was developed by company “Ponta-Muson”. The engine had two top camshafts and capacity of 115 h.p., but these cars didn’t have not enough reliability of the American mechanical knots. Quality was so low that claims started to arrive, as soon as the car left factory. Company “Facel-Vega” reputation has been ruined, and though in 1961 there was a new engine capacity of 126 h.p., it hasn’t helped the company. Buyers didn’t trust the motor of the French manufacture, therefore in model of Facel-III the engine which has proved the reliability from Volvo-V18 has been used. But was too late, and even the model Facelia-6 with power unit “Austin-Hils” couldn’t involve buyers in motor shows. In 1964 Jean Daninos has been compelled to close factory. If it ignored criticism of the press and has kept the American engines, probably, its cars would be made and now.