1963 Facel Vega Facel II Hardtop Coupe

The Facel-Vega company produced cars from the 1950s until the mid-1960s. Their cars were designed to cater to a niche market and satisfy the demands for a high-speed, grand touring car in elegant designs. By 1962, the company was in financial trouble. Their last-ditch effort was to introduce its ultimate car, the Facel II.

The Facel II was given a coach-built body, a unique space-frame chassis, disc brakes at all four corners, and a top speed in the neighborhood of 150 mph. These elegant touring cars commanded a rather expensive sticker price of $12,000, making it more expensive than an Aston Martin DB4 and around three times the cost of a Jaguar E-Type.

This example was delivered to Hoffman Motors in New York in the fall of 1962 and was originally painted in black over red and was fully equipped with an automatic transmission, wire wheels, power steering, and Mitchell factory air conditioning.

The current owner of the car acquired it from a long-time Facel-Vega Club member who had taken great care of this Facel II. It wears a restoration that was completed some time ago. Power is from a Chrysler 383 OHV unit that offers 335 horsepower. There is an independent front suspension and live rear axle. It is currently painted in red with a parchment-colored leather interior. There are a set of Borrani wire wheels and stacked quad headlamps.

In 2010, this Facel-Vega was offered for sale at the Gooding & Company auction held in Scottsdale, Arizona. It was estimated to sell for $150,000 - $200,000. As bidding came to a close, the lot had been sold for $176,000, including the buyer's premium.

By Daniel Vaughan | Feb 2010