Facel Vega Le Mans - Revival of a stillbirth
Shortly before the Facellia finally ruined Facel Vega's reputation, Jean Daninos had commissioned his development department to design a racing car for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Like the large luxury models for the road, the racer was to be powered by a Chrysler V8. Equipped with two Carter four-barrel carburetors, the 6.4-litre Hemi was said to have 465 hp in accordance with the SAE standard, which should have accelerated the coupé, which was only 97 centimetres high, to around 330 km/h.
Former Ferrari and Maserati engineer Valerio Colotti had developed the five-speed gearbox coupled to it especially for the Facel racer. Originally, the car was to have competed at Le Mans in 1964, but the increasing threat of company insolvency, which finally materialized at the end of the year, thwarted the project and the 80 percent completed prototype was scrapped. Today, only a few design drawings remain in the collection of the French Facel-Vega Club.
However, if everything goes as planned, this is set to change next year. French coachbuilder Paulo Antunes has decided to send the stillborn Le Mans car of his favorite brand to the Sarthe 60 years late - out of competition, of course. He has already reconstructed the tubular frame of the mid-engined racer based on the old plans, as well as the gearbox. Next up are the four wheel suspensions with double wishbones, coil springs and Dunlop disc brakes.
Anyone who would like to see the project for themselves and find out more will have the opportunity to do so this weekend in Paris. The tubular frame and a 1:1 scale model, which gives a preview of the finished car, will be on display at the Salon Rétromobile in Hall 1 until Sunday, February 5, 2023.
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