Three-quarters Front view of a Facel Vega HK500, on display at the Historics at Brooklands Stand, of the 2020 London Classic Car Show
The marque Facel Vega was created in 1954 by Jean Daninos (brother of the humorist Pierre Daninos, who wrote Les Carnets du Major Thompson), although the Facel company had been established by the Bronzavia Company in 1939 as a subcontracting company for the aviation industry. FACEL (Forges et Ateliers de Construction d'Eure-et-Loir, in English: forge and construction workshop of the department of Eure-et-Loir) was initially a metal-stamping company but decided to expand into car manufacturing in the early 1950s. Facel entered the automobile business as a supplier of special bodies for Panhard, Delahaye and Simca. For 1959, the Facel Vega HK500[5] was introduced. Essentially, it was just a renamed, upgraded FVS. Equipped at first with the 335 hp (250 kW) V8 from the FVS, the HK500 soon received a 360 bhp (268 kW) litre Chrysler V8, giving it a top speed of 147 mph (237 km/h). It could accelerate from 0-60 mph (97 km/h) in seconds. Initially, disc brakes were optional, becoming standard in April, 1960. The Facel Vega II replaced the HK500 in 1962, after 489 had been built. One was a specially made convertible. Total FV/HK production was 842, or 846 depending on the publisher Michel Gallimard was driving his HK500 on January 4, 1960, when he lost control and crashed outside of Villeblevin. The crash killed him and one of his passengers, Nobel laureate Albert Camus. Some have speculated that the driver was not familiar with the car's handling and weight, and that contributed to the severity of the crash.
Size: 5271px × 3274px
Location: Olympia Exhibition Centre, West Kensington, London, W14 United Kingdom
Photo credit: © John Gaffen / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: -383, -quarters, 1960, 2-door, 2020, 6279, 6299cc, brooklands, car, cc, centre, chrysler, classic, coupe, daninos, exhibition, facel, front, green, historics, hk500, jean, limited, london, olympia, production, show, stand, typhoon, v8, vega, view
