The French sports car revolution was prompted by the pre-war German domination of Grand Prix racing. Information about manufacturers, politics and personalities involved is contained in this book together with detailed technical analysis of the leading French sports car marques with names such as Bugatti, Delage, Delahaye, Simea-Fiat and Talbot-Lago are compared with their foreign competitors, Alfa Romeo, BMW, MG, Aston Martin, Lagonda and Bentley.
“... This is a book for which lovers of the automobile have waited a long time: the most comprehensive text-and-picture history of the dual-purpose car since it came to life more than sixty years ago. As the authors of The Book of Sports Cars point out, “in the beginning they were all sports cars.” The automobile began its active life, whatever the intentions of its creators, as a new instrument of sport. Because the increasing demands of this sport imposed an ever-growing burden of technical development, the sports car and its achievements have never stopped forwarding the improvement of the everyday automobile. Here at last, evolved from years of painstaking research, is a record of what the world’s motorists owe to the dreams and the daring of the men and women of motor sport. In arranging the history of the outstanding marques by countries of origin, the authors have made it plain how first one nation, then another took the lead in developing the automobile as a sporting instrument and hence inevitably as a thing of greater common use and benefit. First Germany led the world, then France, then Great Britain and Italy and the United States. The Book of Sports Cars is a magnificent tribute to the glorious past and the exciting present, a fascinating record of the history that points to the challenging future. A book to be read for pleasure and profit, it will be an invaluable addition to the library of every enthusiast of motoring history...” (1959) - BRIGGS CUNNINGHAM
The heart-pounding story of an unlikely band of ragtags who took on Hitler's Grand Prix driver. In the years before World War II, Adolf Hitler wanted to prove the greatness of the Third Reich in everything from track and field to motorsports. The Nazis poured money into the development of new race cars, and Mercedes-Benz came out with a stable of supercharged automobiles called Silver Arrows. Their drivers dominated the sensational world of European Grand Prix racing and saluted Hitler on their many returns home with victory.As the Third Reich stripped Jews of their rights and began their march toward war, one driver, Rene Dreyfus, a 32-year-old Frenchman of Jewish heritage who had enjoyed some early successes on the racing circuit, was barred from driving on any German or Italian race teams, which fielded the best in class, due to the rise of Hitler and Benito Mussolini.So it was that in 1937, Lucy Schell, an American heiress and top Monte Carlo Rally driver, needed a racer for a new team she was creating to take on Germany's Silver Arrows. Sensing untapped potential in Dreyfus, she funded the development of a nimble tiger of a new car built by a little-known French manufacturer called Delahaye. As the nations of Europe marched ever closer to war, Schell and Dreyfus faced down Hitler's top drivers, and the world held its breath in anticipation, waiting to see who would triumph.
Supercar Revolution charts the evolution of the battle for performance and supremacy among the world's leading marques, including Ferrari, Lamborghini, Bugatti, Porsche, Aston Martin, and Ford GT. If you want to get to know the ins and outs of the high-budget, near space-age vehicles we call supercars, then you need look no further. Supercar Revolutionprofiles the designers and engineers who developed these beasts, and includes interviews with the racers and celebrities who drive them. And that's not to mention the fabulous photographs of the supercars themselves you'll find throughout this highly produced volume. Jay Leno, the host of Jay Leno’s Garage and one of the best-known automotive collectors and enthusiasts in the world, is also featured in several hilarious and informative commentaries. You'll love his many stories and be informed by his opinions on these incredible cars (many of which he owns). Supercar Revolution conveys the power of automotive aesthetics and performance as they're pushed to their absolute limits like you've never seen before. It is a new benchmark in automotive publishing, and is destined to become a classic history of these incredible marques.
A comprehensive, radical look at the history and development of the Type 57 Grand Prix Bugattis. New material challenges traditional beliefs about these historic cars, and rejects some long-standing conventions. Myths are explored and truths are revealed in a book celebrating all aspects of these remarkable cars and their creators.
The Rootes Story - The Making of a Global Automotive Empire traces the meteoric rise of the two Rootes brothers, William and Reginald, development of one of Britain's most important motor vehicle manufacturers. The Rootes Group acquired some of the most famous names in the British motor industry: Hillman, Humber, Sunbeam and Singer cars, as well as Commer and Karrier commercial vehicles. Over the years, some of the models built by Rootes would become household names: the Hillman Minx, Humber Super Snipe, Sunbeam Alpine, Singer Gazelle, Commer Superpoise and Karrier Bantam. In its heyday in the late 1950s, Rootes was the fourth largest manufacturer of cars and trucks in Britain, exporting to over 180 countries worldwide, becoming a global automotive empire. In this book, the people and various companies involved with Rootes are profiled, as are the cars and commercial vehicles built by them, with specifications of principal models. Personal insight from employees is given along with valuable contributions from the Rootes family themselves. This book celebrates the heyday of a truly global automotive empire and one of the most important British vehicle manufacturers of the twentieth century. This is the first book written about Rootes to be sanctioned by the Rootes family. Will be of great interest to owners and enthusiasts of Rootes cars, and those with an interest in British automotive and industrial history. Superbly illustrated with 52 colour and 361 black & white photographs.
Supercar Revolution charts the evolution of the battle for performance and supremacy among the world's leading marques, including Ferrari, Lamborghini, Bugatti, Porsche, Aston Martin, and Ford GT. If you want to get to know the ins and outs of the high-budget, near space-age vehicles we call supercars, then you need look no further. Supercar Revolutionprofiles the designers and engineers who developed these beasts, and includes interviews with the racers and celebrities who drive them. And that's not to mention the fabulous photographs of the supercars themselves you'll find throughout this highly produced volume. Jay Leno, the host of Jay Leno’s Garage and one of the best-known automotive collectors and enthusiasts in the world, is also featured in several hilarious and informative commentaries. You'll love his many stories and be informed by his opinions on these incredible cars (many of which he owns). Supercar Revolution conveys the power of automotive aesthetics and performance as they're pushed to their absolute limits like you've never seen before. It is a new benchmark in automotive publishing, and is destined to become a classic history of these incredible marques.
This book explores the history of French motor racing, with detailed accounts of the cars, drivers and triumphs of this fanatical motor racing nation that has produced many world champions and cars over the years.
Award-winning writer Richard Williams tells the remarkable story of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, one of the world's most iconic motorsports events, which celebrates its centenary in 2023. The event was created by a group of Frenchmen in 1923 and remains uniquely compelling to spectators, to the major motor manufacturers who continue to see it as an opportunity for priceless publicity, as well as to drivers hoping to add their names to its distinguished roll of honour. Between the wars, those manufacturers included Bugatti, Bentley and Alfa Romeo. Subsequently, Ferrari, Jaguar, Mercedes, Aston Martin, Ford, Porsche, Audi and Toyota have all been serial winners, guaranteeing the continuation of ferocious inter-marque rivalry. Over the decades the race acquired a rich folklore, including stories of leaking petrol tanks being sealed with chewing gum, one competitor making his last pit-stop for a fill-up and a glass of champagne, or the woman who drove her MG through the night wearing a fur coat. Competitors have included princes, debutantes, drug smugglers and a Nazi spy. Leading Hollywood film-makers lured to the romance of the race include Steve McQueen, who conceived and starred in Le Mans in 1971, and James Mangold, who made Le Mans ’66 in 2019. But in 1955 it had also been the scene of the greatest tragedy ever to befall motor racing, when 82 people were killed by a competing car, an accident that for a while threatened the sport’s entire future. From the Bentley Boys of the 1920s, through record-breaking multiple winners Jacky Ickx and Tom Kristensen to modern stars such as Allan McNish, 24 Hours celebrates the skill, courage and technical brilliance of the men and women who gave the race its worldwide renown.
Vous connaissez les marques Ferrari, Lamborghini, Jaguar, McLaren, Aston Martin, Maserati, Bugatti, Porsche et Pagani. De 0 à 100 km/h en un éclair. Plus de 320 km/h. Viscérales et sophistiquées. Les supercars redéfinissent le champ des possibles dans le domaine de l'automobile. Supercar Revolution présente les supercars les plus rapides de la planète, depuis les origines de l'espèce –Lamborghini Miura etFerrari Daytona–jusqu'aux déclinaisons les plus modernes, comme la Bugatti Chiron, la Pagani Huayra et la Porsche 918.
