The Excellence features some styling elements typically found on American cars of the era, such as tailfins, the wraparound windshield, and the "hardtop" roof without B-pillars.

Its low beltline and comparatively high greenhouse predicted the automotive architecture that became mainstream in the late Fifties, and lasted throughout the Sixties.

[citation needed] The Facel-Vega Excellence also incorporates a pillarless four-door mechanism, allowing the car to be designed with rear-hinged "suicide" styled rear doors for easier access and egress.

In the interior, the car features leather seats, a faux burled walnut dashboard with full instrumentation provided by Jaeger-LeCoultre, and a make up kit located in the back of the centre armrest, consisting of a chrome-handled brush and comb, and two perfume bottles, the latter albeit being supplied empty by the factory.

Late models incorporate nearly all of the advancements generally considered to be part of the EX2 update, including the non-panoramic windshield, chassis and steering upgrades, as well as the lesser fins.

However, no significant gain in performance could be noted in contemporary road tests, and the initial Hemi-powered cars remain the fastest Excellences ever built.

[4] The domestic market price quoted for the car at the EX2's first Paris Motor Show, in October 1961, was ₣72,500 new francs for an Excellence with an automatic transmission.

Following the proposition of a New York based conglomerate wanting to revive the Packard brand in 1959, Facel-Vega boss Jean Daninos entered into negotiations with Studebaker-Packard Corporation president Harold Churchill.

However, Daimler-Benz, which already had a marketing partnership with Studebaker-Packard, using Studebaker's dealership network to sell its Mercedes-Benz brand of cars in the United States, objected to the plan.

Mercedes never got used to the idea of selling their brand next to a working man's car like a Studebaker, but also did not want floor competition for its luxury models.