Jean Daninos founded Forges et Ateliers de Construction d’Eure-et-Loir—or FACEL—in 1939, but it wasn’t until 1954 and the launch of the Vega that the firm became an automobile manufacturer proper.

This was followed by the HK500 and four-door Excellence—though it was only with the arrival of the Facel II that the range reached its stylistic zenith.

Lighter, lower, faster, and considerably more elegant than its forebears, the Facel II was widely regarded as Daninos’ greatest creation.

Roundly hailed as a return to the great French coachbuilding tradition, the Facel II story began with chassis HK2 A099, which was built as a prototype in 1959—a full two years before the model was launched—and served as the precursor to the 183 production examples that would follow.

Not only was the prototype an order of magnitude more sporting than the HK500 on which it was based, it also differed considerably from the production Facel II.

It featured sleek coupé styling with a sheet metal rear quarte...