Body: convertible
Age: 67 years
One of only 7 built
1955 Facel Vega fv1 convertible
chassis number. 55038
• the 4th of only 7 examples built
• Ex-Francis Lopez
• Ex-Alain Dominique Perrin
• Rare French open V8 4 seater cruising
• known ownership history
footnotes
• in its relatively short life, the french company facel produced around 2,900 cars, all of which were stylish, luxurious and fast. Built by hand, they were necessarily very expensive - the Facel II was priced in Rolls-Royce territory - and were bought by the rich and famous who wanted something exclusive and distinctive. The list of owners includes royalty, politicians, diplomats and entertainers: Tony Curtis, Danny Kaye, Ringo Starr, Joan Fontaine and Ava Gardner are among the latter. Confirming that there was a high-performance substance behind Facel's undeniable style, they were owned and driven by motorsport greats such as Sir Stirling Moss, Maurice Trintignant and Rob Walker.
Forges et Ateliers de Constructions d'Eure-et-Loir (Facel) was founded in December 1939 as a subsidiary of the military aviation company Bronzavia. After World War II, Facel was led by Jean Daninos, the former technical director of Bronzavia, who merged the company with Mètallon. Facel was involved in supplying car bodies to Panhard, Simca and Ford before entering into its own car manufacturing with the introduction of the Vega at the 1954 Paris Salon.
Government legislation had virtually wiped out the few surviving post-World War II luxury car manufacturers in France, but that did not stop Jean Daninos from his bold attempt to revive the once great French automotive tradition. A luxurious grand routière, the Vega took its name from the brightest star in the Lyra constellation and featured an extremely elegant coupe body welded to a tubular steel chassis. With no suitable French-built engine available, Daninos turned to the US for the Vega, setting the pattern for future models. The engine originally chosen was Chrysler's 180 hp 4.5-liter V8. originally for the fv1 the engines were de soto but were sold under the chrysler corporation. There was a choice of automatic or manual transmission.
Improvements to the first FV model were not long in coming, the FV1 introduced in March 1955 with an extended wheelbase for more space in the rear seats and a Chrysler/De Soto V8 with 4.8 liter displacement and 200 hp.
Seven Fv1 convertibles were built, but Daninos disliked soft tops as they were too expensive to produce, and production focused on fixed-head coupes, although there was also the Excellence, a limited edition four-door sedan on an extended wheelbase . The product range extended from the FV series to the HK500 and Facel II, all of which were equipped with the most powerful Chrysler engines available. After an unsuccessful entry into engine construction, which practically made the company bankrupt, production was discontinued in 1964. Today, these rare Franco-American Gran Turismos are among the most coveted classics of the post-war era.
At the Paris Motor Show in October 1954, Francis Lopez, the famous French songwriter and composer of numerous successful operettas, visited the Facel stand and learned that the manufacturer was planning to launch an FV1 convertible that would be more powerful than the FV Coupé on display at the show . Equipped with a two-speed automatic transmission, Lopez's fv1 convertible was delivered on July 9, 1955 and registered three days later as the "3000 ef 75". francis lopez later owned other exotic convertibles such as a maserati 3500 spyder vignale (1963) and a bentley s2 cabriolet (1966).
about two years later, lopez separated from the facel, which was transferred to the paris-based company l'habitat frères on november 27, 1957. The car had two more owners in Paris before moving to the Aisne department, where it was registered as '147 FU 02' on June 30, 1960. In September 1961, Facel was sold to Fontainebleau and returned to Paris in August 1966, when it was registered as '1185 te 75' owned by mr jimmy cisse.
The Facel was subsequently found in an abandoned garage in a Paris suburb, without its registration card. On July 26, 1984, ownership passed to Thierry Olive from Saint-Martin-de-Castillon. The car was then extensively restored: body, paint, mechanics, etc.
On June 23, 1997, “55038” was sold at auction to Alain Dominique Perrin, president of the Cartier Foundation, and was registered the following month as “5537 JM 46.” in january 2004 the facel was sold to belgium by bardini automobiles on behalf of mr perrin. The odometer reading at that time was 63,118 kilometers and is now 65,531. Copies of old registration papers and proof of purchase from 2004 are archived along with a list of previous owners. The car comes with Belgian registration documents and is currently registered with the most appropriate license plate 'fv-1'.
An exciting combination of sleek European style, American V8 power and open 4 seater cruising. This beautiful and rare Facel FV1 Cabriolet is a worthy successor to the legendary pre-war French Grandes Routières
