Known as a constructor of large, expensive and very luxurious "Grand Routiers" for the earths "happy few" Facel entered the market of compact luxury cars in the late fifties.
A market were Alfa Romeo was present with the Giulietta and Mercedes-Benz with the 190 SL. 
In the year 1959 the Facel Vega Facellia saw the light of day; the Facellia was a beautiful and luxurious automobile and it was available as two-door coupé and as convertible. Due to problems with the brand new developed and advanced engine Facel encountered many warrantee claims. The firm decided to fit rugged and proven Volvo mechanics in their compact car. This way the Facel III saw the light of day in the year 1963. The Facel III featured a Volvo B18 engine and a Volvo four speed gearbox with overdrive. Like the big Facel Vega cars the interior of the Facel III was eye catching beautiful with all leather upholstery and the finest dashboard imaginable. All exterior trimming was made out of artistically shaped stainless steel. The Facel III is a scarce car, between 1963 and 1964 only 432 cars were built. In 1964 the Facel III was succeeded by the Facel 6 which featured a six cylinder Austin Healey engine. The Facel 6 is very, very, scarce, only 26 were made in the year 1964. 

Technical data

4 cylinder in-line engine (Volvo B18)
cylinder capacity: 1780 cc.
carburettors: 2x S.U.
capacity: 108 bhp. at 6000 rpm.
top-speed: 180 km/h.
gearbox: 4-speed manual + overdrive
weight: 1250 kg.