1955 Facel Vega FV1 Cabriolet
- Engine
- 4.8L V8 (Chrysler/De Soto), ~200 bhp, two-speed automatic
Chassis 55038 is the fourth of only seven FV1 Cabriolets built by Facel Vega, making it among the rarest examples of an already scarce marque. Delivered in July 1955 to celebrated French composer Francis Lopez, it combines a 4.8-litre Chrysler/De Soto V8 with four-seat open coachwork on a lengthened wheelbase. After passing through several French owners it was substantially restored in the mid-1980s, later acquired by Cartier Foundation president Alain Dominique Perrin, and subsequently sold to Belgium.
Ownership
- 2021-10-10Auction saleEstimate €350,000 – €450,000
- 1955-07-09 → 1957-11-27Factory deliveryFrancis Lopezfull documentation
French composer who visited the Paris Motor Show in late 1954 and arranged delivery of this cabriolet; registered the car on 12 July 1955 under plate 3000 EF 75.
- 1957-11-27 →Private saleL'Habitat Frèrespartial documentation
Paris-based company that acquired the car from Lopez; part of a sequence of Parisian owners before the car moved to the Aisne region.
- → 1960-06-30Acquisition unknownParis-based owners (two unidentified)partial documentation
Two successive owners in Paris before the car was re-registered in the Aisne département on 30 June 1960 under plate 147 FU 02.
- 1960-06-30 → 1961-09-01Acquisition unknownAisne département ownerpartial documentation
Car was registered in the Aisne region before being sold to an owner in Fontainebleau in September 1961.
- 1961-09-01 → 1966-08-01Acquisition unknownFontainebleau ownerpartial documentation
Car was held in Fontainebleau before returning to Paris in August 1966.
- 1966-08-01 →Acquisition unknownJimmy Cissepartial documentation
Paris-based owner under whose name the car was re-registered as 1185 TE 75; the car was subsequently discovered abandoned in a suburban Paris garage without registration papers.
- 1984-07-26 →Acquisition unknownThierry Olivefull documentation
Based in Saint-Martin-de-Castillon; undertook an extensive restoration covering bodywork, paintwork, and mechanical components.
- 1997-06-23 → 2004AuctionAlain Dominique Perrinfull documentation
President of the Cartier Foundation; re-registered the car as 5537 JM 46 the month after purchase; sold through Bardini Automobiles on his behalf.
- 2004 →Private saleBelgian ownerfull documentation
Acquired via Bardini Automobiles with an odometer reading of approximately 63,118 km; currently registered with the plate FV-1 on Belgian documents.
Competition
No competition history extracted from the catalogue.
Maintenance & restoration
- —Restoration
Comprehensive restoration carried out during Thierry Olive's ownership encompassing bodywork, paintwork, and mechanical systems.
Work performed after the car was recovered from an abandoned Parisian garage; no documentation of specific workshop named.
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