1960 Facel Vega Facellia Convertible x2

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We are now selling both of our RHD Facellia Convertible projects as a package together.

Car 1: This is a very rare and interesting restoration project. It is a 1960 Facel Vega Facellia Convertible. UK Supplied. Right Hand Drive. It is registered 840NBM. chassis number FAC142 and is the very first RHD Facellia and the first Facellia imported into the UK. It was the Intercontinental demonstrator registered 1 SPD and nicknames Speedy by the staff there. It was originally finished in Peacock Blue with Black leather trim and registered in October 1960. It has also been owned by Edwin Starr in the past!

This car has a fully rebuilt Cosworth Engine and T5 gearbox fitted for a classic look but modern engine. The original engine and gearbox are also included in the sale. There are many new parts and boxes upon boxes of dismantled parts for the car. A fortune has been spent but the car still needs restoring. please be under no illusions. It is a rare and valuable car when done with only about 20 RHD Facellia converti les having been made. with this being the most celebrated. It has a current UK V5 and comes with a little history and original Facel History Sheet.

Car 2: This is also a very rare and interesting restoration project. It is a 1961 Facel Vega Facellia Convertible. Right Hand Drive. It is registered BLB4B. chassis number FAD151 and is one of about 20 RHD Convertibles made. This needs a full and complete restoration. it is not for the faint hearted but will be worth the effort!

This car. whilst it looks like a pile of bits. actually has the chassis. many new body parts and all running gear present. The car has a current UK V5 and all Chassis Plates. It is missing its engine and gearbox although the later Volvo unit. fitted to later Facellias would be a correct and easy replacement. It is a rare and valuable car when done with only about 20 RHD Facellia convertibles having been made. There is no doubt this is a daunting project and it may be better as an accompaniment to the other Facel Convertible project we are selling. But due to the rarity of the car. someone needs to save it!

Since 1955 Jean Daninos succeeded in producing the ultimate French car. the Facel Vega HK 500 and Facel II models. These were elegant grand touring coupes with a tubular chassis. independent front suspension and a very elegant in-house design coachwork. Power was supplied by a huge American V8 engine while transmission was either a 4 speed manual or a three speed automatic. The interior boasted room enough to accommodate 4 persons in comfort. the seats being trimmed in finest Connolly hide. Particular attention was paid to the dashboard. which deceptively looked like the finest burr walnut. but was in fact hand-painted on steel. At the time it was the favourite transport of many a racing driver. including British legend Stirling Moss. Other famous VIPs to own the best France had to offer in terms of motoring were Tony Curtis. Ringo Star. Ava Gardner and Francois Truffaut.

On 28th September 1959 Facel presented the new small model. the Facellia. in the museum Jacquemart-Andre on Boulevard Haussmann in Paris. No other than Stirling Moss unveiled this pretty little model to the press and the general public. The reception of this model wich looks like a downsized version of the bigger V8 models was such that already some 1. 00 orders were taken before production even started. not a mean feat when one takes into account that only a hundred models of the bigger V8 models were produced per year. The engine was an in-house effort by Facel. thus not relying on the supply of American machinery. The 1600 cc 4 cylinder produced approximately 120 sprightly bhp. The building process was complicated: while the engines left the factory in Puteaux. the assembly of the car took place in Colombes before being painted and fitted with the interior at the Facel works in Dreux.

Also published at eBay.co.uk

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