Facel Vega Excellence is a full-size luxury passenger car manufactured by Facel-Vega . It was first presented at the Paris Motor Show in October 1956 and received rave reviews from the press.
| Facel vega excellence | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Total information | |
| Manufacturer | Facel vega |
| Years of production | 1958 - 1964 |
| Assembly |  Paris , France |
| Class | full-size luxury car |
| Design | |
| Body type | 4-dv. hardtop |
| Layout | front-wheel, rear-wheel drive |
| Wheel formula | 4 × 2 |
| Specifications | |
| Mass-dimensional | |
| Length | 5235 mm (EX1) 5280 mm (EX2) [1] |
| Width | 1830 mm |
| Height | 1380 mm |
| Wheelbase | 3170 mm (EX1) 3180 mm (EX2) [1] |
| Weight | 1920 kg |
Production began in 1958 and continued until 1964 , when the company finally phased out automobile production. Excellence was based on the extended chassis of the FV Coupé model. A total of 156 cars were produced. The small number of cars produced is due to the extremely high price comparable to the four Citroën DS sedans; in addition, the price could be increased when installing additional equipment - power steering and brake system, power windows and air conditioning .
Design
Some elements of the Excellence style, such as tail fins , a windshield with curved edges, and a hardtop body without side pillars were borrowed from American cars of the 1950s. However, in general, the project was typically European, with twin vertically positioned headlights and an understated silhouette - which was very popular from the 1950s and early 1960s. Facel-Vega Excellence also featured "suicidal" rear-hinged rear doors — a limited-edition Cadillac Eldorado Brougham and a production Lincoln Continental from 1961-1969 also had a similar design.
History
Model "EX"
Unlike the specimen presented at the Paris Motor Show, which had a 331-inch engine (5.4 liters), the first batch of production cars (May – October 1958) was equipped with a 392-cc (6.4 liter) Chrysler Hemi V8 engine , also installed on Facel-Vega HK 500 and Imperial brand cars. The car could be equipped with either a 4-speed manual transmission of its own production, or a 3-speed automatic transmission manufactured by Chrysler. The top speed was 140 mph (225 km / h). In total, eleven copies of the EX series were produced, of which seven have survived to this day.
Model "EX1"
From October 1958 to July 1961, the “EX1” series was produced, which became the largest Excellence series and was released in the amount of 137 copies. Chrysler stopped supplying Hemi engines, so the model was equipped with a 361 cc (5.9 L) Wedge V8 engine manufactured by Chrysler. Since the end of 1959, cars have had front disc brakes.
Model "EX2"
From July 1961 to June 1964, the EX2 series was produced, which received restyling and a more efficient engine with a capacity of 383 inches³ (6.3 liters) and a capacity of 390 liters. with.
Externally, the “EX2” was distinguished by an updated windshield and strongly sloping tail “fins”, which, however, did not add modernity to the car. Given the extremely low sales, full restyling was unreasonably expensive. A total of eight copies were produced.
The price of the new “EX2”, presented at the Paris Motor Show in October 1961, amounted to 72,500 francs , for which it was possible to purchase twelve new Renault Dauphine that same year. [one]
Negotiations with Studebaker-Packard
In 1959, the head of Facel-Vega, Jean Daninos, entered into negotiations with the president of Studebaker-Packard Corporation, Harold Churchill, about the possible revival of the once prestigious Packard automobile brand. The offer was to sell the Facel-Vega Excellence model in North America under the Packard brand through the SP dealer network. Daimler-Benz , which partnered with SP and sold Mercedes cars through them, opposed the offer. Realizing that the sale of Excellence SP would not receive the same profit as the cooperation with Daimler-Benz, Churchill rejected this offer. However, several Excellence has been imported into the United States by individuals.
In popular culture
Facel-Vega Excellence appears in the 1959 Count Your Blessings movies, Do You Love Brahms? "1961, " Love Is a Ball " and" Le temps des copains "(both 1963), " Slaughter "in 1972 and in the 1990 clip " Dancing Machine " .
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 3 Automobilia (neopr.) // Toutes les voitures françaises 1962 (salon Paris oct 1961). - Paris: Histoire & collections, 1200. - T. Nr. 19 . - S. Page 48 .