Library

A new engineer joined Great Britain’s sacred immortals at ceremonies here today. Emerging from the shadows, Reid Antony Railton stepped into the limelight of a spectacular career in the service of speed. His life and achievements are being celebrated by author Karl Ludvigsen in a new book titled Reid Railton — Man of Speed. ‘After World War 2’, said author and Railton expert Karl Ludvigsen,’ Britain often held the Triple Crown of Speed on land, sea and air. Railton’s vehicles were responsible for the absolute speed records on land and water.’ Speed kings Sir Malcolm Campbell, John Cobb and Goldie Gardner rode to fame in Railton-engineered craft. Car designs from his draughting board for Campbell were the first to 250 mph and 300 mph.

There are many types of books in an MG collection. There are shop manuals, marque histories, racing stories, advertising records, and on and on. There are few however that standout is completely different. MG, Made In Abingdon: Echoes from the Shop Floor by Bob Frampton is one such book. This book is one of the few that while dealing with the MG factory, doesn’t actually have a ton of information about the cars. Instead, it is about the people and is told in their own words. MG, Made In Abingdon will give you a feel for the people and the time and the place made famous by the sacred octagon. In the book, we hear from the true voices behind the cars. We hear stories that range from tea-girls bringing cinnamon buns to the line-workers to fist fights in bars to men […]

Jim Clark was a genuine sporting hero. Driving for Lotus throughout his professional career, he was twice a World Champion, in 1963 and 1965, and won 25 of his 72 Grands Prix. In his upcoming book Jim Clark: The Best of the Best, David Tremayne details the life and career of this iconic British driver. Clark was the yardstick by which every other driver on the starting grid was judged, and by which they judged themselves. Quite simply, he was peerless. Stubborn and notoriously indecisive outside the car, he would nervously chew his fingernails, but he was a genius when he got behind the wheel. To many, he remains the greatest racing driver of all time, not just because of his fearsome strike rate and the magnitude and manner of his achievements, but also because he remained humble and unspoiled throughout. […]

The First Three Shelby Cobras – The Sports Cars that Changed the Game is the fourth in the Exceptional Cars series from Porter Press. Produced with the same handsome attention to details as their other books, this volume details the story of three cars important to modern sports car history and Cobras in particular –  the first AC Cobras created by the legendary Carroll Shelby in 1962. The prototype Cobra, CSX2000, has been described as ‘the most important modern American car’, although it was built on a British AC Ace chassis with an American Ford V8 engine. CSX2001 was the first production Cobra and CSX2002 the first to race, leading to a series of competition successes that made Shelby’s Cobras famous and a favorite of sports-car enthusiasts throughout the world.

An Austin Anthology by James ‘Jim’ Stringer is an entertaining collection of true stories that feature just a few of the products manufactured by the Austin Motor Company from 1906 until the outbreak of the Second World War, including the people who helped to make them, those who drove them, and even those who flew them. Although the history of the Austin Seven and Taxicabs have been covered before in much greater detail elsewhere, you will find within these pages the stories of many other Austin creations: the Austin 12/6 which could be won by smoking Kensitas cigarettes; the Austin 20 which competed in the 1914 Austrian Alpine Trial; the remarkable racing car named ‘Pobble’ which went on to serve as an ambulance during the First World War, and the Australian couple who, in 1926, decided to drive their Austin […]

Getting behind the wheel of a Caterham or Lotus Seven is one of the most exhilarating experiences for any driver. The fourth edition of this well-respected and informative book includes details of the models produced in the five years since the third edition was published, and gives a full model listing, specification and driving impressions for each of the Lotus and Caterham Sevens, together with a guide to purchase and restoration, a summary of the main developments, and useful contacts. Further to the various versions of the Lotus-built Seven, there are more than 80 models produced under the Caterham marque. In 1973, the company then owned by Graham Nearn took over the manufacturing rights from Lotus and has carried on developing this back-to-basics sports car ever since. Detailed coverage of each of the cars, from the original Lotus Seven S1 […]

Our Video of the Week this time around is, as the Monty Python phrase goes, something completely different. The video is of Veronica Lamond’s book “Landy” read aloud. This is the first volume in the Landy Books Trilogy – introducing ‘Landy’ and his friends. A charming story for young children who love animals and the great outdoors. Parents and grandparents love reading it too. The Landybook series engage children in diverse, real-life activities through the lovable, animated characters of Landy (1956 Series 1) and Fender (1999 Defender). This Landy story, tells of Jack finding Landy abandoned at the bottom of a field and they then start their new life together. This Land Rover book is perfect for children aged 1 right through to 99. A classic traditional kids book you will all fall in love with.

Traditional car books tend to be sleep inducing for those uninterested in the automobile. How refreshing then that John Nikas’s new tome underpins the absorbing histories of Britain’s most famous sports car manufacturers by chronicling their invaluable role in reviving the country’s decimated post-war economy. Rule Britannia conveys in fascinating detail how the national resolve created vehicles that not only earned desperately-needed foreign currency but established a humble but exciting category of motorcar that continues to captivate the imagination of enthusiasts the world over. Exhaustively researched and written in an easy-flowing but authoritative style, Rule Britannia is also lavishly illustrated with a delightful mix of carefully-selected period images and stunning studio photography contributed by master lensman Michael Furman. This then is a book as alluring for anybody interested in Britain’s post-war social history, as those inspired by the indelible mark made on the world […]

Porter Press is delighted to announce the release of their latest ‘Great Cars’ book, number 10 in the series, Lotus 18 – the autobiography of Stirling Moss’s ‘912’. This lavish book tells the story of the car in which Stirling Moss achieved two of his most famous Grand Prix victories. The first World Championship race of the 1½-litre Formula 1 era introduced for 1961 was the Monaco Grand Prix and Ferrari’s powerful new ‘shark-nose’ cars were expected to dominate it, but Moss used all his craft and guile to take a celebrated win in his Lotus 18.

Just received notice of a new book by Quentin Spurring title “Le Mans: The Official History 1930-1939” published by Evro Publishing Limited. Officially licensed with the ACO, the organizers of the annual Le Mans 24 Hours race, this beautiful book is the seventh title in this decade-by-decade series and completes coverage of the endurance classic from its very beginning to the end of the 20th century. This title covers the nine races of the 1930s (no race was held in 1936) in which honors were divided between Italian, French and British manufacturers. Each race is exhaustively covered in vivid photographs, an insightful commentary providing more detailed information than has ever been published about the period, and full statistics. It includes great stories such as: The 1930 race Bentley achieved its fourth consecutive success, Woolf Barnato and Glen Kidston the winning […]

Update: The contest is now closed! We would like to congratulate Ray Whitley on his win which was determined at random from all entries received. We would also like to thank all of those who entered the contest. Entertaining stuff! I bet you didn’t know that July is my birthday month – well it is. But, I am going to give you the present. Aren’t I generous? We Leo’s are like that!  Since this book is proving to be so popular, I thought you might like another contest chance to win a copy of Robert Morey’s Philosophy and Psychology of British Car Restoration. This is a great little book, and a fun read for any fan of old British cars. So, you might be asking yourself how you enter the contest. I gave a lot of thought to that and decided that […]

Congratulations to our winner! We would like to congratulate Bruce Cunha on his win of the book. Bruce, and you can read his comment below, drives an MG BGT as his everyday ride, which is great! Says his wife drives an SUV, and he has an MG TD under restoration. Sounds like a pretty good way to go. Look for our next contest coming soon. We haven’t had a competition for a while, and it is time to change that. What’s more, we would like to give some lucky ready out there a chance to own a copy of Robert Morey’s Philosophy and Psychology of British Car Restoration. You have heard us talk about the book, and you may have even read Bob Seidler’s excellent review, so now it is time for us to part with a copy and send it […]

Rover V8 – the Story of the Engine by James Taylor tells the fascinating story of the engine that created a legend in its own lifetime. Starting life as a General Motors design in 1961, but withdrawn three years later in favor of cheaper technology, it reached Rover by chance in the mid-1960s. Few other British companies then had V8 engines in production, and Rover immediately gained a special status when the V8 entered UK production during 1967. This was an extraordinarily compact design and also extraordinarily light, thanks to its all-aluminum alloy construction. It was not a temperamental high-performance engine, but had a well-proven and simple architecture that made it both reliable and easy to work on. Small wonder, then, that the Rover V8 was bought by sports car makers who needed a light, compact and powerful engine. Small wonder […]

Before reviewing Robert Morey’s delightful new book, The Philosophy and Psychology of British Car Restoration, allow me a moment of transparency and honesty:  I am a big fan of the Little British Car, henceforth known as LBC.  I’ve owned and lovingly cared for several Triumphs (two and four wheel) an MGB and played caretaker to a range of LBCs including an Austin Healey, TVR and even a V12 Jaguar (four carburetors!!)  So even if the book were the result of a dozen monkeys pounding keyboards for a month, I am likely to be favorably drawn to any book with the words British Car in the title. So with that mea culpa out of the way, Morey’s creation is a positive, cheery and satirically refreshing collection of reflections that perfectly mirror the author’s upbeat personality and automotive experience.  His use of […]

Note: We published an announcement of this A Life in Car Design – Jaguar, Lotus, TVR by Oliver Winterbottom last month, and now our friend John Clancy has contributed this review. In my opinion, the wedge era of the 1970s and 80s was the high point of automotive styling.  In particular, it was the sports cars from that period that really cut the mustard.  Among the British entries into the market, there was one man who was behind more sports car styles than anyone else, Oliver Winterbottom.  This is the autobiography of his career.  From his apprenticeship with William Lyons’ Jaguar in 1961, working for Colin Chapman at Lotus, TVR, General Motors and his period as a consultant in China, this book gives an insight into what it took to get his designs into production [or not] with an authority that can only be relayed […]

Graham Robson is a distinguished motoring historian whose working life has always been connected with fine cars and advanced engines. After starting his career at Jaguar, then running the ‘works’ motorsport team at Triumph, he developed a passion for motoring heritage and for classic cars. He has been an independent writer, historian and motoring consultant for many years, and has written more than 130 books. Robson will be inducted into the British Sports Car Hall of Fame this June. In fact, we are pleased that he will also be MC of the event.

Jaguar XK 120: The Remarkable History of JWK 651, second in the publisher’s “Exceptional Car” series, is one of those books that is hard to classify. On the one hand, authors Chas Paker and Philip Porter have done such an amazing job detailing the story of this one particular Jaguar that the book is definitely a history book. On the other hand, this is documentation – documentation of one car, its provenance, and its current state. On on a third hand (we all have three hands right?), this is an art book. The photographs rival any automotive coffee table book on the market today. Regardless, however you classify it, this book is a delight that you can sit and read or just flip through and marvel at the images. The Remarkable History of JWK 651 tells the story of one of the six […]

A Life in Car Design by Oliver Winterbottom gives a unique insight into design and project work for a number of leading companies in the motor industry, including Jaguar, Lotus, TVR and General Motors.