Facel Vega HK 500 Moonlight by aRi F. Huber

About "Facel Vega HK 500 Moonlight"

by aRi F. Huber

About the artwork

Facel Vega HK 500 the ultimate, best automobile that France built in the 50s and 60s and at the same time another masterpiece by Jean Daninos. A French luxury armoured car that was often and rightly mentioned in the same breath as Rolls-Royce models. Under the bonnet, it was equipped with a large-volume Chrysler Typhoon V8 Special, 5.9 litres with hemispherical combustion chambers ("Hemi") and high compression, which made it possible to reach at least 225 km/h without any effort. It was also equipped with the best that was available on the automobile market and was correspondingly expensive before it was finished. The interior was trimmed with Connolly skins, and a painter was hired especially for the armrest panel to give it a burl wood look. Wilton wool carpets and wool fabric from the West of England, Jaeger instruments were obligatory, electric windows were also standard, initially delivered with drum brakes and later from 1960 with 4 Dunlop servo disc brakes all round, as these simply decelerated much better. Optional extras included power steering, tinted windows, air conditioning and a luggage set tailored to the size of the boot. Chrysler Torque Flight automatic gearbox (3 ranges) with push-button switch, Borrani steel sports rims with Rudge centre lock and an original "His Master's Voice" (HMV) radio. If you wanted, you could also get a Chrysler Torque Flight automatic gearbox (3 ranges) with push-button switch, which was also an optional extra. All of this was of course assembled individually by hand, which included a chassis with LeCarbon gas pressure dampers and the handcrafted aluminium body on a tubular steel frame.
All this came at a price and after three years of production from 1958 to 1961, 490 examples were sold and in 1964 Facel S.A., which had been founded in Paris in December 1939, also came to an end.