The 1960 Facel Vega Excellence was a luxury saloon automobile produced by the French manufacturer Facel Vega that was unveiled at the Paris Auto Show in October 1956. It was the only four-door model the company ever made and was based on an elongated chassis from the Facel Vega FV Coupé. Production of the Excellence lasted from 1958 until 1964, with only 156 cars ever built. (The ‘EX1’ generation models produced only 137)
Production began in May of 1958. Under the hood in the first edition of EX cars was Chrysler’s 392ci Hemi V8, but this engine was virtually out of production by the time Facel released the Excellence, so only seven were built as equipped. The next iteration, the EX1 released in October of 1958, featured the 361ci, 360hp “Wedge” V8. Offered with either a TorqueFlite automatic or Pont-à-Mousson manual, the Excellence could reach 140mph.
Open and airy in design, the pillar-less FV, and later HK500, was swift and luxurious—a unique alternative to a Bentley Continental or Maserati 3500. They were quickly snapped up by wealthy industrialists and glitterati alike, proving the company’s slogan: “The Few Who Own the Finest”. Improving on the concept, it was determined in short order that Facel’s market could be expanded by adding a couple more doors. Only two years after the introduction of the first Facel Vega coupe, the Excellence sedan was unveiled.
Clocking in at just under 17.5′ long, with 125″ spanning between the wheels, and tipping the scales at 4,200 pounds the Excellence was made to American proportions—a Hermès suit in size 50, extra long. Featuring elegant slab sided styling with pillarless suicide doors (beating the Lincoln Continental to the punch by a full 5 years), a wrap-around windscreen and subtle fines held sway in the front and rear, respectively.
Inside, driver and passengers alike were coddled by soft and sumptuous leather seats, chrome fixtures, and the classic Facel Vega dashboard that featured an aircraft-like complement of gauges set in a dash of hand painted wood grain. In the back seats, the wood grain theme continued on the backs of the seats, along with a vanity and a second radio head unit. Power windows where, of course, standard.
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