Facel Vega Rebirth?

Kinja'd!!! "Jobjoris" (Jobjoris)
10/28/2014 at 04:18 • Filed to: Facel Vega

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Although at this moment there are only renders of this reborn-brand-to-be, a Dutch newspaper had a brief !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! (Dutch-Alert!), Caroline Castets.

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Caroline Castets hopes to revive the brand together with Serge Dumonteil. Dumonteil has a rich history in the automotive industry. He worked for Volkswagen, Nissan, Porsche and was marketing boss of Ferrari-Maserati in Western Europe. The establishment of the company is not without setbacks though: the rights of the brand name itself seems to be unobtainable.

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The name 'Facel Vega' is now owned by a group Facel Vega owners. "We are still negotiating to see if we can use the name. At this time this is not the case yet. We have therefore decided to use 'Facellia Automobiles', but the desire remains to offer future cars under the name 'Facel Vega'. We still do not understand how we ended up in this situation when we presented our plans. The plan is to let this fantastic brand revived with respect for its past." Castets states.

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"We strongly believe there's a worldwide desire for a French luxury brand. 'Facellia Automobiles' wants to design, build and sell new cars" Castets adds in the interview. 'Facellia Automobiles' did/had done a comprehensive study on what kind of car is best suited for the segment of luxury cars. The HK Coupe is the answer according to the company. The coupé is inspired by the Facel II of 1961. "Let's hope that the first cars will be ready in 3 to 4 years. We are very curious what people think of the project." the interview ends with.

Seems someone took the final question in !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! pretty serious!

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DISCUSSION (11)


Kinja'd!!! Sam > Jobjoris
10/28/2014 at 04:20

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I like some parts of this, but others are just.... Ugh...


Kinja'd!!! Jobjoris > Sam
10/28/2014 at 04:39

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Of course these 'others' are, it's French! I'm just very curious if they'll make it at all (probably not). There just needs to be a proper French luxury car!


Kinja'd!!! JustWaitingForAMate > Jobjoris
10/28/2014 at 04:44

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Announcing a car based on a trademark you don't own? That's some Kickstarter level bullshit right there.


Kinja'd!!! Jobjoris > JustWaitingForAMate
10/28/2014 at 04:49

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Spot on! Only ones I know that came away with a trademark-issue like this was Ford with it's GT.


Kinja'd!!! Steve in Manhattan > Jobjoris
10/28/2014 at 06:08

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Who is crying out for this car? Who is going to spend, what, US$300,000 on this instead of a Ferrari, an Aston, a Lamborghini, two Porsches, a Maserati, something with a warranty that will be there when you need it? Hell, a Noble? And what's that ugly supercar Hammond drove? Enough already.

Oh yeah, the Gumpert. Argh.


Kinja'd!!! Jobjoris > Steve in Manhattan
10/28/2014 at 06:21

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Warranty was what killed Facel Vega in the 60's in the first place (they mounted an own designed engine which failed dramatically). Noble & Gumpert operated on other levels (dedicated sportscars) as this should be some grand tourer. Back in the days people like Pablo Picasso, Joan Collins, Ringo Starr, Stirling Moss, Tony Curtis, and Frank Sinatra all drove Facel Vegas so there's some more heritage there. Don't know/think it that will be enough though as the owners of the name clearly don't want to be linked to this as well. And didn't Mercedes-Benz (with all it's backup funding) tried to revive an old brand unsuccessfull as well with Maybach?


Kinja'd!!! Steve in Manhattan > Jobjoris
10/28/2014 at 12:15

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I inadvertently hit the nail on the head. And yeah - Maybach was quietly laid to rest a couple years ago. See them around - mostly ugly two-tone paint jobs.


Kinja'd!!! ciscokidinsf > Jobjoris
10/28/2014 at 14:55

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Looks like the Chrysler Firepower concept car + a Facel-Vega grill stuck in there. I know Facel-Vega, Facel-Vega was a friend of mine, and you, sir, are no Facel Vega!


Kinja'd!!! Jobjoris > ciscokidinsf
10/28/2014 at 16:16

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I'm not sure yet if I like it. The fact someone tries to revive the brand is okay to me as I've always love Facel Vegas, the looks however... That rear looks nice by the way.


Kinja'd!!! ranwhenparked > Jobjoris
10/28/2014 at 19:34

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Does Facel Vega deserve to still exist? Most definitely. Is this the way to bring it back? I'm going to have to think about it and get back to you on that. Still, you can't knock them for trying.


Kinja'd!!! Jobjoris > ranwhenparked
10/29/2014 at 03:15

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It would have been awesome if the Daninos family would have initiated the rebirth themselves, I would definitely love to see the return of Facel Vega. Not sure if this is the way either, but without backing of the ones owning the name it could prove to be a hell of a task. Only way I see this happening is when one of the 2 French remaining carmakers adapts all these plans but with the financial troubles they're in right now I hardly see this ending well. Well, maybe Renault/Nissan could but I'm sure they'd rather revive the Alpine brand they already own.