The year 1961 heralded a new era for motor racing with the introduction of Formula One. It was a double challenge for Stirling Moss, who was still recovering from the accident that had almost killed him the year before. Yet, a rested and refreshed Moss relished the challenge. In this season of change, he drove Lotuses, Ferraris, Coopers, and Porsches, and found time to court a succession of glamorous women, much to the delight of the world's press!
Who has been the worlds greatest driver, and how do you prove it? With an eye for detail and a flair for storytelling, this book explores motor racings rich history in pursuit of the best driver the world has ever seen. Most enthusiasts have a strongly held opinion as to racings finest driver over the century of the motor car. By putting aside bias and personal opinion, this books exhaustively researched, results-based analysis provides a definitive answer through clear and logical evaluation. These carefully considered, significant statistics, when merged together, reveal with incisive objectivity motor sports greatest driver as well as the qualities that define greatness. Contentious? Possibly. Thought-provoking? Definitely. Author Angus Dougall captures many aspects of the motor racing world with a selection of revealing anecdotes on the highlights of racings biggest stars, together with stories that bring to life people, places, insiders opinions of drivers, circuits, constructors, politics, insights, and comments on many of the drivers. For readers wishing to peruse the actual detail, there is a vast array of appendices displaying extensive race results lists, charts on driver performance, and car analysis. Motor racing fans, climb on board and hold on for an intriguing ride to the pinnacle of greatness.
This book has almost 600 old photos taken from hot rodders albums that show the greatest days of hot rodding; the 1930s to 1950s. The photos show the ideas and modifications that went into the hot rods of over 50 years ago. Here is an excellent reference to learn about the hot rods of the past. Hardbound - 192 pages - 597 photos
The Stirling Moss Scrapbook 1955 is packed with intriguing detail, superb illustrations and a plethora of period cuttings from around the world. Throughout his career he created his personal scrapbooks, several volumes per year, and he kept a diary and photo albums, too. This book dips into his personal records and is spiced throughout with treasures to delight and fascinate. These are supplemented by period comments and many of his anecdotes. Moss has a fund of stories and is refreshingly non-PC!
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the British cult classic movie The Italian Job. This landmark anniversary presents a unique opportunity to celebrate the film with a coffee table book packed full of images, insights and revelations. Loaded with Sixties swagger, and famed for its endlessly quotable dialogue and one of the most impressive car chases in movie history, The Italian Job is the ultimate celebration of ‘cool Britannia’. From the opening sequence of Rossano Brazzi gliding through the Alps in an orange Lamborghini Miura, to the high-speed getaway across the city of Turin in three Mini Coopers, The Italian Job is a petrolhead's dream. The Self Preservation Society will detail how all these cars, including the Aston Martin DB4 and E-Type Jaguars were found and ultimately where they are today. Over the last 20 years, author Matthew Field he has interviewed all the key people involved in the 1969 production. Through him, their stories are revealed, often for the first time. Based on more than 50 in-depth interviews with the cast and crew, and lavishly illustrated with hundreds of never-before-seen photographs and production documents, this definitive book will explode some myths, include a few revelations and tell the fascinating full story of this perennially popular movie.
Volume 1 of this all inclusive biography of the legendary Striling Moss covers his early life and career. Starting as a youth with incredible skill, young Stirling Moss quickly caught the eye when racing the 500cc cars invented just after the WWII. He soon ventured abroad and was laughed at for his tiny car – until he beat them. He became the British Champion at 21, something most drivers achieve in their 30's, 40's, or even 50's. Patriotically, Moss insisted on driving British cars, even when outmatched by more powerful, foreign vehicles. He often won. Admirable patriotism nearly ruined his promising career until he was forced to compromise, and quickly revived his career; showing he could beat the very best at the highest levels. In the final year covered by Vol 1, he won his first Grand Prix and such sports car classics as the Tourist Trophy, the Targa Florio, all amazing achievements, but Moss winning the Mille Miglia has gone down as one of the greatest feats in all sport.
Launched in 1959, the Mini helped to change automotive design, with its unique combination of aesthetics, space efficiency, engineering approach, and handling. Alec Issigonis’s masterpiece was an instant hit – not just with the buying public, but with celebrities and racers alike, from Sir Stirling Moss to ‘The Fab Four’. The Mini became a much-loved staple of the British car industry – a position that it has arguably enjoyed for 60 years and continues today. In this latest addition to the Scrapbook series from Porter Press International, the story of this unique little car is broken up into accessible nuggets and aided by a collection of archive and contemporary photography, to illustrate just what makes the Mini so special in this, its 60th year. Author Martin Port set the scene with a look at why this charismatic little car is so loved around the world. He reveals how the concept became a reality and covers each main incarnation of the classic Mini, from 1959 to 2000. From celebrity owners to appearances on the silver screen, competition wins and all sorts of weird and wonderful Mini variants – this is the ultimate visual guide to an icon of British design.
Released in celebration of his 80th birthday, this volume in the popular series follows Sir Stirling Moss through his most turbulent, demanding, and ultimately, successful racing years. During this period, Moss' career was at its zenith. By 1960, he had secured his reputation as the greatest motor racing driver in the world, although the title of World Champion still, frustratingly, eluded him. He dominated every racing arena. In Formula One he secured numerous landmark victories, including first GP wins for Vanwall, Cooper, and Lotus. In Formula Two, he was all-conquering, driving Rob Walker's Cooper-Borgward and he helped Aston Martin to victory in the World Sports Car Championship. Yet, for all his adaptability, Moss' rise was far from simple. Racing first with Maserati, then Vanwall, and finally the privateer Rob Walker team, he struggled frequently with the restrictions of his machinery and the demands of technological change as F1 moved from front- to rear-engine racers. Off track too, things were far from simple as the pressures of fame coupled with the dangers of the sport impacted devastatingly on his personal life.
Revealed to the world in 1948, the Land-Rover not only revived the Rover Company's fortunes in an austerity-riddled post-war period, but galvanized its future, thanks to the model's almost immediate success. With the manufacture of an initial 48 'pre-production' examples coming to a close, the first official production models were assembled - starting with chassis 860001. As original factory records prove, this pivotal vehicle was destined for His Royal Highness King George VI, but the decision was made to postpone the presentation and instead, 'number one' was retained by the factory until 1950, when it was registered JUE 477 before leaving Rover Company ownership. After decades left out in the cold and exposed to the elements, 860001 had certainly seen better days, but thanks to the determination of Sir Jim Ratcliffe, founder and Chairman of INEOS, the future of JUE 477 was secured in 2017. Over the next two years, a dedicated team of experts, led by chief restorer, Julian Shoolheifer set about restoring the vehicle while retaining as much of its original DNA as was physically, and safely, possible and making sure that this remarkable vehicle's history and past life was still worn with pride.
