1961 Facel Excellence (Series II)

Country of Manufacture: France
Year:              1961
Vin #:             EX2B141 Facel II
Model Type:  4 Door Sedan
Body Designer: Jean Daninos
Engine:           Chrysler Typhoon 383 V8 (6270cc)
Horsepower:  360 bhp at 5200 rpm
Torque:          440 lb at 3300 rpm    
Transmission: Pont-A-Mousson 4-Speed Gearbox
Suspension:  
Front- Independent, double wishbones, coil springs, telescopic shock absorbers, anti-roll bar
Rear- Leaf springs, telescopic shock absorbers
Brakes:           Front- 11.25 inch drums
                        Rear- 11 inch drums
Top Speed:    125 mph

History:   Facel (Forges et Ateliers Construction d’Eure at de Loire-Medallon) which was founded by Jean Daninos in 1939, began as metal forming specialists turning out metal furniture and combustion chambers.  After WW II, Facel moved on to manufacturing jet engine parts, Vespa motor scooter stampings and car bodies for French Ford, Simca, Panhard, and French Jeep.  With an improving French economy, these manufacturers brought their car body production back in-house and Facel was stranded with a large, idle manufacturing capacity.  Founder Jean Daninos, who had studied under Pininfarina, began to plan a car of his own, beginning with six Facel Bentleys which were built between 1949 and 1951. Seeking to fill the high performance/luxury void left by the demise of Bugatti, Delahaye, Delage, and Talbot, Daninos decided to build his own cars utilizing a chassis and body of his own design and powered by Chrysler V8 engines.  Over a ten year period, 7 different luxury V8 powered coupes were built, specifically the FV1, FV2, FV2B, FV3, FV3B, FV4, HK500 and Facel II and the 4 door Excellence that was built on an extended (by 20 inches) FV chassis. Daninos’s desire to build an all French car was Facel’s eventual undoing and the production of the smaller Facellia coupes and convertibles crippled the company.  Facellia’s were initially powered by Facel’s own 4 cylinder, twin overhead cam engine (built for Facel by Pont-A-Mousson, Facel’s manual gearbox supplier) and while advanced in design, these engines suffered from bad water circulation and rigidity problems. These problems ultimately led to the substitution of Volvo and then Austin Healey engines but the expense of warranty repairs and with its reputation ruined, Facel went into insolvency in 1964. 

Production:   Total Facel production of all types amounted to just 3033 examples. Only 152 Excellence’s were built in two series.  There were 144 Series 1 Excellence’s built. These Series 1 models featured a wraparound, dogleg windshield and subtle tail fins. This car, 1 of 8 less dramatic Series II cars built, came with a flat windshield and a plain rear end with truncated tail fins. This car has the very rare Pont-a-Mousson 4 speed gearbox option mated to the more powerful, 360 horsepower engine with 2 four-barrel carburetors (versus 335 horsepower and 1 four barrel carburetor found in the automatic transmission cars).

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