Facel Vega HK500

In short

• Built 1959–1962 in France; 489 cars, the most of any Facel V8 model.
• Chrysler V8 of 5.8 litres with 246 kW (335 hp), later 6.3 litres with 265 kW (360 hp).
• Top speed 147 mph (237 km/h) and 0–60 mph in 8.5 seconds, according to English Wikipedia.
• Front disc brakes optional at first, standard from April 1960; tubular frame and leaf-sprung live rear axle.

Facel Vega HK500 at a glance

Jean Daninos and Facel before the Vega

German Wikipedia adds detail on the founder and the early business. Jean Daninos had worked at Citroën, where he helped develop the Traction Avant, and later as a designer at an aircraft plant. Facel made stamped metal parts, furniture, kitchens and aircraft parts. From 1945 it was linked with Métallon, a tie that lasted until January 1953, and its body division dates from 1948. Facel also built a Bentley Cresta body on a Bentley Mark VI chassis. The company's address was 19 Avenue George V in Paris, and the Facel Vega name was suggested by Pierre Daninos, after the star Vega.

From the FV to the HK500

The FV of 1954 already had the formula: a tubular frame designed by Lance Macklin, styling by Jean Daninos and an American V8 at the front. Its body was an enlarged version of the Facel-built Simca and Ford Comète. Over five years the engine grew steadily:

English Wikipedia counts 357 FVs and FVSs, so with the HK500 the series reached 842 or 846 cars, depending on the source. In the United States the FV2 was sold as the FVS.

Engine and performance

The HK500 started with a 5.8-litre Chrysler V8 of 246 kW (335 hp), later replaced by a 6.3-litre unit of 265 kW (360 hp). German Wikipedia describes the HK1 of spring 1959 with the Chrysler 383 engine and up to 291 kW (390 hp SAE). It notes that the papers often show 5.9 litres because of French tax rules. The buyer could choose a Chrysler automatic or, at extra cost, a four-speed manual gearbox from Pont-à-Mousson.

English Wikipedia gives a top speed of 147 mph (237 km/h) and 0–60 mph in 8.5 seconds; German Wikipedia gives 210–230 km/h. German Wikipedia also compares fuel use. It gives 16.5 litres per 100 km for the HK500, against 15.0 for the Ferrari 250 GT, 15.7 for the Mercedes-Benz 300 SL and 15.5 for the Aston Martin DB4. The fuel cost calculator shows what 16.5 litres per 100 km means at today's prices. The engines themselves came from the company described in the history of the Chrysler Corporation.

Chassis, brakes and equipment

The frame is welded from tubes. German Wikipedia describes the layout of the FV series. It has double wishbones with coil springs and an anti-roll bar at the front, a Salisbury live axle on leaf springs at the rear, and hydraulic dampers all round. The earlier FV and FV1 had 280 mm aluminium drum brakes, and servo assistance arrived with the FV2B. Front disc brakes became available in 1958; on the HK500 they were an option at first and standard from April 1960. For the HK1, German Wikipedia lists discs of 308 mm at the front and 295 mm at the rear. Power steering was optional, and the electrics changed from 6 to 12 volts.

The Facel family: Excellence, Facellia and Facel II

The HK500 was one of several Facel models, and the others explain both the company's reputation and its fall.

The four-door Excellence was a pillarless hardtop saloon with rear-hinged rear doors. The small Facellia was announced in 1959 and sold from March 1960. Its engine had only two camshaft bearings and suffered failures, high oil consumption and burned pistons. Those problems hurt the brand. German Wikipedia counts 1,174 V8 cars in total, including 11 cabriolets; English Wikipedia says 77 % of V8 production was exported.

Owners and the Camus accident

Facel Vegas were bought by a remarkable list of people. English Wikipedia names Pablo Picasso, Ava Gardner, Christian Dior, Stirling Moss, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Fred Astaire and Debbie Reynolds. German Wikipedia adds the Shah, King Hassan II and Ringo Starr. In Germany, the importer Auto Becker of Düsseldorf sold 67 Facel Vegas from 1958.

The marque is also linked to a death. On 4 January 1960 the publisher Michel Gallimard lost control of his Facel Vega FV2 near Villeblevin. He and his passenger, the Nobel Prize-winning writer Albert Camus, were killed. Some sources suggest that Gallimard's unfamiliarity with the car's handling played a part.

The end of Facel

Jean Daninos resigned in August 1961, and André Belin, a former oil executive, took over. The company passed under the control of SFERMA, a subsidiary of Sud Aviation. Production stopped in 1963, and the factory closed at the end of October 1964. The HK500's successor, the Facel II, was longer and faster, and Paul Frère measured 247 km/h in a manual car, but it could not save the company.

More cars of the period are in the 1950s classics and 1960s classics sections.

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