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The Excellence was a luxury saloon automobile unveiled by Facel-Vega of Paris, France, at the Paris Auto Show in October 1956 to rave reviews by the motoring press. Production started in 1958 and lasted until the company ceased production in 1964. The car was based on an elongated chassis from the Facel Vega FV Coupé. It was the only four-door model the company ever made. Production ended after only 156 cars had been built. The low production figure is a direct result of the car's exorbitant purchase price. When new, it cost about as much as four Citroën DS saloons, which themselves were hardly to be considered cheap cars. The towering price could still be boosted by ordering optional equipment, which gradually became available over the car's production run, such as power steering, power brakes, electric windows, wire-spoke wheels, and air conditioning. ==Design== The Excellence featured some styling elements usually found on American cars of the era, like tailfins, the wraparound windshield, and the "hardtop" roof without B-pillars. But the overall design was distinctively European, with its stacked quad-headlights and rakishly low profile. Its low beltline and comparatively high greenhouse predicted the automotive architecture that became mainstream in the late Fifties, and lasted throughout the Sixties. The Facel-Vega Excellence also incorporated a pillarless four-door mechanism, allowing the car to be designed with rear-hinged "suicide" styled rear doors for easier access and egress. This layout could also be found on the limited production Cadillac Eldorado Brougham, which was unveiled later in 1956, and on the mass-produced 1961-1969 Lincoln Continental. Inside, the car had a lavish interior with seats covered in aromatic leather, a fake walnut dashboard with full instrumentation, and a make up kit located in the back of the centre armrest, consisting of a chrome-handled brush and comb, and two perfume bottles, the latter albeit being supplied empty by the factory. Still, the interior was not nearly as roomy as one would expect from a car with a wheelbase exceeding three metres. The Excellence was a top performer and could hold its own among the best GTs Europe had to offer. Some high-performance American cars, most notably Chrysler's 300 'letter series' models, could probably outrun an Excellence in straight-line performance, but they were neither as refined, well built, nor had they the 'panache' of a Facel-Vega. Although the Excellence could match the wheelbase of most full-sized American cars of the time, it was considerably shorter, narrower, and most of all, lower. Its comparatively compact measurements gave it the edge in the handling department, which came in handy, especially under European road conditions. In an article for the November 1985 edition of Collectible Automobile Magazine, noted automotive historian Richard Langworth stated his opinion that "The Excellence is a large vehicle...better suited as a car of State rather than a daily driver." How he came to this conclusion despite the unanimously positive reviews regarding the roadability of the Excellence from the contemporary motoring press as well as its owners, has been a matter of debate ever since. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Facel Vega Excellence」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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