Facel Vega HK500: American Horsepower with a French Twist

Beloved by celebrities when new, the Vega is a blend of European styling and American performance still turns heads today.

Dodge Forum is probably the last place you’d expect to read about a hand built French exotic car from the 1950s. When the French car is question is powered by a 383 cubic-inch Chrysler V8, though, no more explanation is necessary.

After the conclusion of World War II, the French company Facel began building luxury cars. In 1954, they began selling high performance grand tourers to the world’s wealthy elite under the name Facel Vega. This HK500 model, produced in 1958, represents one of just 500 or so built between 1958 and 1961.

Due to its price and its exclusivity, the Facel Vega HK500 became popular with a well-heeled, jet-setting segment of the population that included many celebrities. The car seen here was once photographed with actress Ava Gardner. Other celebrity Facel Vega owners include Pablo Picasso, Frank Sinatra, and Sir Stirling Moss (who owned two). The Facel Vega HK500’s celebrity connections don’t end there.

Power and Panache

In January 1960, the French Absurdist philosopher and author Albert Camus was riding as a passenger in his publisher’s Facel Vega HK500 when it left the road and crashed into a tree, killing them both. The car’s impressive power was said to be a contributing factor, and the crash added mystique to both the Nobel laureate Camus and Facel Vega.

The driver, Michel Gallimard, was one of the heads of Éditions Gallimard, the publishing house which printed books by Camus and many other French authors. To this day, Éditions Gallimard publishes the works of Proust, Foucault, Sartre, and many others.

The Facel Vega HK500’s power was indeed impressive for its day. The 6.3 liter, 383 cubic inch V8 produced an impressive 360 horsepower. Despite the car’s weight — just over two tons — it was capable of a top speed of 147 miles per hour. That was heady stuff back in the late 1950s.

We found this 1958 Facel Vega HK500 offered for sale on Hemmings for just under $180,000. The incredible rarity, coachbuilt good looks, impressive performance, and celebrity mystique of these cars combine to make them sought-after collectibles.

Photos: Hemmings

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Cameron Vanderhorst

Cam VanDerHorst has been a contributor to Internet Brands' Auto Group sites for over three years, with his byline appearing on Ford Truck Enthusiasts, Corvette Forum, JK Forum, and Harley-Davidson Forums, among others. In that time, he's also contributed to Autoweek, The Drive, and Scale Auto Magazine.
He bought his first car at age 14 -- a 1978 Ford Mustang II -- and since then he’s amassed an impressive and diverse collection of cars, trucks, and motorcycles, including a 1996 Ford Mustang SVT Mystic Cobra (#683) and a classic air-cooled Porsche 911.
In addition to writing about cars and wrenching on them in his spare time, he enjoys playing music (drums and ukulele), building model cars, and tending to his chickens.
You can follow Cam, his cars, his bikes, and his chickens at @camvanderhorst on Instagram.

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