Retromobile, the wonderful classic car show in Paris, is coming up next month (February) and with it come the three auctions that are regularly held to coincide with the influx of classic car people. These are hosted by RM on Wednesday February 8^th, Bonhams the next day and Artcurial, as usual, is the last on the 10^th.  RM don’t have any Facels to sell, but the other two auction houses do, so I thought I’d give you a rundown as to what’s available – which includes one right hand drive HK500.

Bonhams have three Facels for sale. The first is lot 317 and is one of ninety FV3Bs produced and is thought to be the last one, made in 1958. This has been seen recently in the UK and hasn’t sold, so presumably the owner is trying his luck in Paris instead. It is left hand drive but registered in the UK. It was formerly owned by the racing driver, Maurice Trintignant, so has important history and is estimated at £160-£210,000.

Two lots later is a 1962 Facellia F2B, left hand drive in dark blue. This is the final iteration of the Pont-a-Mousson engined Facellia with the final modifications, of which 164 were built in convertible form (less than the four-seater coupe). It was originally imported into Belgium and has been with the same owner since 1968 and was in storage for twenty years. Restoration work has taken place on the body, interior, brakes and engine over the years and it is quite reasonably estimated at  £26-35,000.

Lot 395 – if you can get past the Lancia Stratos five cars earlier – is a right hand drive HK500, HK L1. It never made it to England however, being sold in France where it has remained throughout its life. It is manual, in white and was restored in France in 2011/2012. It is offered with a £130-£170,000 reserve.

A day later, at Artcurial, two Facels come up for auction, one after another. Lot 23 is Facel Vega Excellence EX1 B118 which has been in the same hands since 1979, the car’s fifth owner. It is pretty original with some work being required but it is for sale with a pretty reasonable €60-€100,000 estimate and no reserve.

Lot 24 is an assiduously maintained HK500, left hand drive chassis number HK1 BQ6. It was originally owned by the car’s gearbox supplier, Pont-a-Mousson and since then has been owned by two enthusiastic members of the Amicale who have kept it in pristine condition ever since. The estimate is €150-€180,000.

And that’s it for Facel Vega owners. Of course, there are some fascinating vehicles on offer in all the auctions and as I’ve written before, they all have their own character. You can usually listen to the auctions on-line.

PS: If you can’t wait that long, there are two other Facels for sale in the UK at the moment.  One is a very good looking Facel 111 in Warwickshire. They weren’t actually imported into this country so this is left hand drive but this car has been the subject of a nut-and-bolt restoration and certainly looks very good in the photos, in an attractive turquoise. The description isn’t entirely comprehensive but I suspect it is a fixed head coupe. Furthermore, no price is mentioned.

HK-1 BL5 is up for sale in East Sussex. The owner has two other HK500s, one a left hooker but this car appears for sale at £89,950, complete restoration required. The owner says it’s totally complete with a mileage of 65,000.  It is registered YXY969. He says it’s been owned by four people, including himself. To put this into perspective, the recently restored HK500 in Blackpool looks as though it could be bought for £127,500.

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