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The Facel Vega 'Facel II' was a French Grand Touring car produced by Facel between the years 1962 and 1964. By 1962 the Paris-based Facel Vega company〔Automobiles Facel Vega S.A. 19 Avenue George V, Paris 8me, France〕 was facing bankruptcy. The Facel II was to be the company's last attempt to create a luxury GT car in the French tradition. Jean Daninos, Facel's founder and president, said of the Facel II, "The HK 500 was the most interesting car we ever made but the Facel II was by far the best. It was totally '' 'elegant' ''.〔'Autocar' 6 July 1981 p 36〕 The Facel Vega company advertised the Facel II as "''Le Coupé 4-places le plus rapide du Monde''" ('The Fastest 4-seater Coupé in the World'). 'Sports Car Graphic' described it as a "luxurious brute".〔Sports Car Graphic road test 7-62〕 Bernard Cahier, a race-driver who tested the car in 1962, said of an early version (without the later limited-slip differential) that "the huge output of the Chrysler engine made it easy to spin wheels at light throttle pressure." It was powered by an American 6.3 litre (383 cu.in.) Chrysler 'Typhoon' engine which produced in automatic-gearbox form and in manual. Using Chrysler's three-speed Torqueflite automatic gearbox, the 6.3-litre Facel II could reach over 135 mph (225 km/h). With a French Pont-a-Mousson four-speed manual gearbox the full-four-seater 6.3 litre Facel II could attain over 150 mph (247 km/h)〔Sports Car Graphic's Road Test () of the smaller-engined 6.3 litre by Bernard Cahier recorded a top speed of averaged over a two-way run and acceleration to 100 mph in 17.0 seconds〕 and out-accelerate its two-seater rivals, the Aston Martin DB4, Ferrari 250 GT and 'gull-wing' Mercedes-Benz 300SL, to and all except the Ferrari to 100 mph (160 km/h).〔'Facel Vega' by Jean Daninos: Editions E.P.A Paris 1981, p. 130〕 Dunlop disc brakes were fitted on all four wheels and Hydrosteer power steering, leather seats, electric windows and radio aerial all became standard during the production run, with Armstrong Selecta-Ride shock-absorbers adjustable from the dash while driving fitted to the right-hand-drive British models. The curvaceous wrap-round dash was in fact metal but meticulously painted to look like wood.〔 Many of the controls were airplane inspired.〔 The later manuals were fitted with the even more powerful 6.7 litre (413 cu.in.) Chrysler "RB" wedge engine and were faster still.〔Including the one belonging to Ringo Starr: Autocar 6 June 1981 p 36.〕 Like its predecessor, the Facel Vega HK500, the Facel II was heavier than its two-seater rivals, weighing (37 cwt) 'dry' and almost two tons with four passengers and a full petrol tank. There may have been some question about its ride and rear suspension〔See 'Autocar' & 'Motor' road tests as below. But Bernard Cahier, the racing driver who tested the Facel II for Sports Car Graphic, wrote (no 7-62 ), "When driving really fast, our Facel seemed particularly at home on the fast-bend-and-esses type of curves on which the car was rock steady with practically no lean or rolling. In this respect the Facel II is about the finest automobile that I can think of for sheer stability".〕 - it used suspension virtually unchanged from the previous HK500 - but certainly none about its speed〔The English-language Owner's Manual advised (p.9):- "Hold the steering wheel with both hands except when changing gear - Stay as close as possible to the centre of the road - Do not look at anything else but the road - Do not smoke - Do not change stations on the radio - Do not talk".〕 or glamour.
==Famous owners== The Facel II was very expensive〔See Autocar Road Test 3 Aug 1962: £5,570 basic in Britain: 73,500 Fr francs, over $12,000 US: considerably more expensive than an Aston Martin DB4(Autocar 13 Oct 1961 ) and approaching three times the price of an E-type Jaguar (Autocar March 24, 1961 ). A substantial London house could then be bought for what a Facel II then cost.〕 and highly exclusive. Its handsome design〔In 2008 the Facel II was voted by The British Daily Telegraph readers as one of the "Most Beautiful Cars of All Time"()〕 led to famous owners, including Pablo Picasso,〔For whose car a US car dealer was asking $400,000 in 1991: there has been dispute over whether it was ever in fact owned by Picasso〕 Lionel Bart, Lord Brabourne, The Chrysler Corporation (and Mrs Carr, Walter Chrysler's daughter), Joan Collins, Tony Curtis, Christian Dior, Stanley Donen, Charlie Drake, Max Factor Jr, Joan Fontaine, Ava Gardner (who bought three), The Marchioness of Huntly (whose car had full-harness seat-belts), Herbert von Karajan, Danny Kaye, Louis Malle, The President of Mexico, Princess Grace of Monaco, Yves Montand, Hassan II King of Morocco, Baroness Sally Oppenheim-Barnes, William S. Paley, Prince Poniatowski, Anthony Quinn, Debbie Reynolds, Frank Sinatra, Ringo Starr, The Marchioness of Tavistock, François Truffaut, Count Giovanni Volpi di Misurata, Robert Wagner, Sir Mortimer Wheeler, The Shah of Persia and Sihanouk (King-Father of Cambodia). Race drivers Sir Stirling Moss, Maurice Trintignant, Tony Vandervell and Rob Walker also had Facels. 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 Facel II」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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