Few marques are more enigmatic than Facel Vega, founded by Jean Daninos in 1938 as Forges et Ateliers de Construction d’Eure-et-Loir, to produce machine tools for the aircraft industry. This mysterious French company introduced its first car in 1954, having produced bodyshells for Panhard, Simca and Ford beforehand, but it created cars under its own name for just a decade. Despite its brief existence, almost 3000 cars were built in all, about half of which have survived.

By the time Facel Vega introduced its first car, grand routier concerns such as Delage and Delahaye were history, leaving Talbot Lago as the only French luxury car builder – but that too was dead by 1959. Now in a unique position, Facel Vega did well in France, Germany, the UK and the US; confirmed fans included the Shah of Iran and King Hassan II of Morocco, plus numerous celebrities such as Ava Gardner, Tony Curtis, Ringo Starr and Stirling Moss.

Of all the V8 models offered by Facel Vega it’s the HK500 that was built in the greatest numbers; if you include its predecessor the FV series and its successor the Facel II, this line of V8 coupés accounts for about a third of the company’s total production. Fantastically expensive when new, the cars are now relatively far more affordable, with values kept low through a lack of demand. Potential buyers are scared off by fears of a lack of support, with many more simply unaware of the marque’s existence.

Richard Stevens of the Facel Vega Car Club confirms this: ‘Very few really good V8 coupés come onto the market. Most that are sold require at least some work, if not a complete overhaul. Basket-cases are common and can fetch little more than £5000; something worth owning starts at around £20,000. Really nice coupés will fetch £30,000 or even more, but they’re few and far between.

‘The above applies to the FV and HK500 but Facel IIs are rarer and more valuable as they’re more sought after; finding one in the UK won’t be easy. Indeed, to find any Facel you’re better off looking in the US or Europe. There are far more cars in Europe, but the weakness of the dollar means importing a car from the US makes a lot of sense right now – especially as many really nice Facels are in America. However, these cars are appreciated more in Europe and America than in the UK, so asking prices tend to be higher.’

Mark Walker is chairman of the club, having owned many examples of the marque since 1970. He’s aware of the potentially high cost of buying, running or restoring a Facel, but offers potential owners some comfort: ‘Thanks to increasing interest in Facel Vega, more parts are being remade than ever, largely through the various clubs. Parts supply used to be a real issue – rebuilding a Facel has always been a huge undertaking because of the rust issues and poor panel availability. Getting embroiled in a full restoration is still not a task for the faint-hearted, but at least it’s starting to make economic sense. And even if the sums don’t add up, these cars are worth saving for their charisma and rarity alone.’