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Facel-Vega Facellia - the little purebred brother

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Created on October 7, 2011

Text:

Rob de la Rive Box (1984) und Bruno von Rotz (2011)

Photos:

Archiv Reinhard / Max Pichler

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Archiv

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Archiv Reinhard / Max Pichler

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Archiv

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Facel-Vega Facellia (1959) - Illustration from the sales brochure

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Facel-Vega Facellia (1960) - photo from the 1960 sales brochure

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Facel-Vega Facellia (1963) - even as a smaller car, the Facel-Vega has hardly lost any of its elegance

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Facel-Vega Facellia (1963) - an interesting combination of curves, edges and corners in the coupé

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Facel-Vega Facellia (1963) - the roof can be fully lowered

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Facel-Vega Facellia (1960) - Daninos gave the Parisian women the convertible they had long wanted

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Facel-Vega Facellia (1963) - in the handling test

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Facel-Vega Facellia (1963) - during test drives

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Facel-Vega Facellia F2 (1961) - Interior

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Facel-Vega Facellia (1960) - Interior

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Facel-Vega Facellia (1960) - luggage compartment

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Facel-Vega Facellia Cabriolet (1960) - at the 1960 Paris Motor Show

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Facel-Vega Facellia (1960) - also pretty to look at from behind

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Facel-Vega Facellia (1960) - the four-cylinder engine designed exclusively for the Facellia

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Facel-Vega Facellia (1960) - the four-cylinder engine of the little brother, here in the S version with two twin carburetors from Weber

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Facel-Vega Facellia (1960) - beautifully built but not very reliable four-cylinder engine with two overhead camshafts

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Facel-Vega Facellia (1959) - Interior

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Facel-Vega Facellia Coupé (1961) - at the 1961 Geneva Motor Show

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Facel-Vega Facellia F2 (1961) - on the stand at the 1961 Geneva Motor Show

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Facel-Vega Facellia F2 (1961) - on the Monthléry race track

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Facel-Vega Facellia (1960) - With J. C. Daninos

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Facel-Vega Facellia (1962) - rear section of the coupé version

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Facel-Vega Facellia (1960) - made an excellent impression at the major motor shows of the time, as here in Paris

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Facel-Vega Facel III Coupé (1963) - Presentation on the Seine in Paris

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Facel-Vega Facel III (1964) - Illustration from the 1964 folding brochure

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Facel-Vega Facel III (1964) - Coupé in the folding brochure from 1964

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Facel-Vega Facel III Cabriolet (1963) - open-top driving at its best

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Facel-Vega Facel III Cabriolet (1963) - rear view was inspired by the large coupé

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Facel-Vega Facel III Cabriolet (1963) - also cut a fine figure when closed

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Facel-Vega Facel III hardtop (1963) - there was also a hardtop for the convertible

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Facel-Vega Facel III (1963) - the engine of the Facel III came from Volvo

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Facel-Vega Facel III Coupé (1963) - also cut a fine figure as a coupé

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Facel-Vega Facel III (1964) - Coupé with the engine from the Volvo 1800 S in private Swiss ownership

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Facel-Vega Facel III (1963) - Presentation at the Paris Motor Show in 1963 - the end was in sight

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Facel-Vega Facel III Cabriolet (1963) - this was the car Parisian women had always wanted

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Facel-Vega Facel III Cabriolet (1963) - not really a racing car, but nevertheless also to be found in Monthléry

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Facel-Vega Facellia (1960) - Aufnahme aus dem Verkaufsprospekt von 1960

Facel-Vega Facellia (1963) - auch als kleineres Auto hat der Facel-Vega kaum etwas von seiner Eleganz verloren

Facel-Vega Facellia (1963) - eine interessante Kombination von Rundungen, Kanten und Ecken beim Coupé

Facel-Vega Facellia (1963) - das Dach lässt sich vollständig versenken

Facel-Vega Facellia (1960) - Daninos gab den Pariserinnen das Cabrio, das sich sich schon lange gewünscht hatten

Facel-Vega Facellia (1963) - im Handlingtest

Summary

For years, Jean Daninos had been accused of his cars being "bastards". They could not be compared with Jaguar, Ferrari or Aston Martin, which built their own engines. Daninos used Chrysler engines in his Facel-Vega. But when he resorted to his own engine design for the Facellia, he ran into major warranty claims, which practically spelled the end of the once proud Facel company. This article tells the story of the little Facel-Vega and is illustrated in particular with many historical pictures and five original brochures from the time - unique!

This article contains the following chapters

Daninos built up a good reputation with the large Facel Vega
The birth of the little brother
Unfulfilled hopes and major problems
Many warranty claims cost a fortune and led to its downfall
The Facel III as the successor to the Facellia
The end of Facel-Vega looms
Production statistics of the small Facel-Vega
Further information
Positive surprises from the press

Estimated reading time: 8min

Preview (beginning of the article)

For years, Jean Daninos had been accused of his cars being "bastards". They could not be compared with Jaguar, Ferrari or Aston Martin, which built their own engines. Daninos used Chrysler engines in his large Facel-Vega. When he proudly showed the Facellia, built from French parts, at the Paris Motor Show in 1959, this also marked the end of the only French car factory that had dared to build its own prestige car after the war. In 1939, Facel (Forges et Atéliers de Construction d'Eure et de Loire) was founded and was engaged in the manufacture of tools for the aircraft industry and also processed sheet metal for various purposes. When the Germans occupied France and the French aircraft industry no longer existed, Facel specialized in the manufacture of gas generators for cars and trucks.

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Images of this article

Facel-Vega Facellia (1960) - Aufnahme aus dem Verkaufsprospekt von 1960

Facel-Vega Facellia (1963) - auch als kleineres Auto hat der Facel-Vega kaum etwas von seiner Eleganz verloren

Facel-Vega Facellia (1963) - eine interessante Kombination von Rundungen, Kanten und Ecken beim Coupé

Facel-Vega Facellia (1963) - das Dach lässt sich vollständig versenken

Facel-Vega Facellia (1960) - Daninos gab den Pariserinnen das Cabrio, das sich sich schon lange gewünscht hatten

Facel-Vega Facellia (1963) - im Handlingtest

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