Out of This World: Historic Milestones in NASA’s Human Space Flight

Out of This World: Historic Milestones in NASA’s Human Space Flight

  • A stunning coffee table book of historically significant NASA photos
  • Amazing photographs complemented by quotes and stories from noted personalities at NASA
  • A chronological journey through NASA’s history, from Apollo to the James Webb Telescope
  • Awe-inspiring, inspirational and motivational, a perfect gift and a must for your library
  • Quotes from astronauts Commander James Lovell and John Glenn, as well as John F Kennedy, Ralph Waldo Emerson and many more

“The history of space exploration is best presented in this book of NASA photographs, whose images are universally inspirational.” – Commander James Lovell, Apollo 13

NASA has worked at the forefront of space exploration and research since 1958. Their devotion to furthering our understanding of what lies beyond our atmosphere has seen 12 humans walk on the surface of the moon, helped form the International Space Station, and placed numerous rovers on Mars. Voyager 1, launched by NASA on 5 September 1977, is the furthest manmade object from earth, having left our solar system entirely – and the agency’s plans for the future are equally inspiring.

This book celebrates NASA throughout the years, from its inception to its 60th anniversary in 2018, and beyond. A visual tour-de-force, the book collects high resolution NASA photos of historic significance; from rarely seen photos and the words of President John F. Kennedy commanding the space race, to the many triumphs and tragedies of the Apollo Missions, moon landings, the International Space Station, space shuttles, journeys to Mars and explorations of our galaxy’s outer reaches. These breathtaking images are complemented by heartfelt words of hopes and imagination for the future, encouraging readers to admire their world from a different perspective. NASA: the Greatest Milestones is a stunning 300 page book.

The Riders: Motorcycle Adventurers, Cruisers, Outlaws, and Racers the World Over

The Riders: Motorcycle Adventurers, Cruisers, Outlaws, and Racers the World Over

The Riders explores and celebrates the differences and common bonds among motorcyclists around the world via Henry von Wartenberg’s engaging and inviting documentary photography.

Motorcyclists feel a kinship with fellow riders that is not easily explained but runs deeper than choices like bike brand or riding focus. You see it sometimes with a wave of the hand from one lane to the next, with an appreciative nod at a stoplight, or in a U-turn to check on a rider stranded on the roadside.

Motorcyclists make a conscious decision to ride an inherently dangerous device, a machine open to the elements and vagaries of nature. A motorcycle demands a level of attention far greater than a car and consequences for inattention are much graver. On the flip side, riding a motorcycle offers an unmatched sense of freedom, adventure, and involvement.

Von Wartenberg, a long-time rider himself, has traveled the world on a variety of assignments, some motorcycle related and others not. But wherever he was on the planet, he always found a way to connect with fellow riders and document their culture and machines. Over the course of his travels he has photographed riders in more than 30 countries including Bolivia, Austria, Canada, Chile, China, Costa Rica, France, Mongolia, Mexico, Italy, Germany, Iceland, Peru, Spain, the United States, England, and Thailand to name a few.

What emerges on the pages of The Riders is the amazing breadth of the motorcycling world, from outlaw clubs to adventurers to racers to boulevard cruisers to those for whom a motorcycle is the only form of transportation as well a means to make a living.

The Riders is a book sure to be enjoyed by anyone who embraces the two-wheeled world.

THE INSIDE LINE: RACING THE 500cc WORLD MOTOCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP

THE INSIDE LINE: RACING THE 500cc WORLD MOTOCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP

A unique, detailed, and comprehensive first-hand account of life as a professional racer competing  and contending  in the 500cc world motocross championship.

Tracing the journey of Great Britain’s Rob Andrews, from unremarkable amateur, through to factory Kawasaki rider, 500 GP contender, and member of Great Britain’s 1985 Motocross des Nations team, The Inside Line goes where no book has gone before: deep into the heart of life as a professional grand prix motocross racer.

Superbly illustrated with nearly 400 incredible images from some of the most acclaimed photographers in the industry, The Inside Line takes the reader on a fascinating odyssey of insight and intrigue.

Learn the inner workings of the grand prix motocross world, get answers to long-pondered questions, and discover things you never knew. There are facts that will surprise you, anecdotes that will make you laugh, and brutally honest, never-before-published information.

Find out how it felt to race against motocross legends on the world’s most famous and revered grand prix circuits. Discover what it was like to race a full-factory 500 for Team Kawasaki. Learn how the riders on the nomadic grand prix circuit lived, traveled, trained, and practiced while on the road.

Join Rob as he guides you – in his own words – through the highs and the lows, the adrenaline and the sacrifice, the jubilation and the occasional devastation of his extraordinary journey from raw novice all the way to the biggest stage of all: the 500cc world motocross championship.

And by the end you’ll understand just what it was like – and just what it took – to be a grand prix motocross racer.

The Inside Line is a mammoth, heavyweight, 416-page, 93,000-word hardback book of uncompromising quality and detail.

From Coveralls to Zoot Suits: The Lives of Mexican American Women on the World War II Home Front

From Coveralls to Zoot Suits: The Lives of Mexican American Women on the World War II Home Front

During World War II, unprecedented employment avenues opened up for women and minorities in U.S. defense industries at the same time that massive population shifts and the war challenged Americans to rethink notions of race. At this extraordinary historical moment, Mexican American women found new means to exercise control over their lives in the home, workplace, and nation. In From Coveralls to Zoot Suits, Elizabeth R. Escobedo explores how, as war workers and volunteers, dance hostesses and zoot suiters, respectable young ladies and rebellious daughters, these young women used wartime conditions to serve the United States in its time of need and to pursue their own desires.
But even after the war, as Escobedo shows, Mexican American women had to continue challenging workplace inequities and confronting family and communal resistance to their broadening public presence. Highlighting seldom heard voices of the “Greatest Generation,” Escobedo examines these contradictions within Mexican families and their communities, exploring the impact of youth culture, outside employment, and family relations on the lives of women whose home-front experiences and everyday life choices would fundamentally alter the history of a generation.

REBELS WITHOUT APPLAUSE:  Southern Modified and Late Model Racing 1938-1949

REBELS WITHOUT APPLAUSE: Southern Modified and Late Model Racing 1938-1949

REBELS WITHOUT APPLAUSE is the latest work of Greg Fielden, among the country’s most esteemed racing historians. He brings alive the pivotal, formative years before and just after World War II, starring a band of rowdies barnstorming across the South, inside and out of their primitive race cars – and the pokey.

Fielden’s detailed research provides race-by-race recaps, along with box scores and money winnings for each race. For the first time, the real records, drama and often darkness of the era leading up the formation of NASCAR are brought colorfully to life.

Informal but highly informative, the book is 204 pages with 250 B&W and color photos. Soft cover, 8 1/2×11.”  

Lancia 037: The development and rally history of a world champion

Lancia 037: The development and rally history of a world champion

In the late 1970s, the problem facing any manufacturer taking part in the World Rally Championship was that the rules kept being changed at short notice. This book looks at the solutions found for Lancia’s rally car, the 037, and takes the reader through the new rules that all potential contenders would have to consider if they wanted to win rallies at World Championship level.
Lancia’s Rally was developed quickly to deal with the then-dominant Audi Quattro. The reasons it succeeded are featured here, along with an in-depth, behind-closed-doors look at the development of the car, with the close help and cooperation of its designer and chief engineer, Ing. Sergio Limone.

Here you can read how he decided on the basic configuration of the car, what the rules would allow, and how the project unfolded in total secret at Fiat’s various test tracks and centres in and around Turin, overlaid with rumour and counter-rumour as the world’s motoring press tried to make sense of what little knowledge it had of the project’s progress. In addition, Ing. Limone’s own photographs from areas never accessed by the public tell their own story. The focus then moves to the world of top-level rallying, with all the associated glory and headaches. Accompanied by stunning photography and insights from team members, we follow the small and nimble 037s, as the cars have become popularly known, as they head out to take the World Rally Championship for Makes in 1983 and innumerable wins throughout the world. In addition, there are tests of various key examples of the cars, and appendices of events and chassis used. This book is illustrated with 250 stunning and rare rally action photos.

Veloce Classic Re-Prtint

Boeing 737: The World’s Most Controversial Commercial Jetliner

Boeing 737: The World’s Most Controversial Commercial Jetliner

In this in-depth study of the 737, the renowned aviation historian and author Graham M. Simons explores the whole story of the type’s design and introduction.

The Boeing 737 is an American short- to medium-range twinjet narrow-body airliner developed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes, a division of the Boeing Company. Originally designed as a shorter, lower-cost twin-engine airliner derived from the 707 and 727, the 737 has grown into a family of passenger models with capacities from 85 to 215 passengers, the most recent version of which, the 737 MAX, has become embroiled in a worldwide controversy.

Initially envisioned in 1964, the first 737-100 made its first flight in April 1967 and entered airline service in February 1968 with Lufthansa. The 737 series went on to become one of the highest-selling commercial jetliners in history and has been in production in its core form since 1967; the 10,000th example was rolled out on 13 March 2018.

There is, however, a very different side to the convoluted story of the 737’s development, one that demonstrates a transition of power from a primarily engineering structure to one of accountancy, number-driven powerbase that saw corners cut, and the previous extremely high safety methodology compromised. The result was the 737 MAX. Having entered service in 2017, this model was grounded worldwide in March 2019 following two devastating crashes.

In this revealing insight into the Boeing 737, the renowned aviation historian Graham M. Simons examines its design, development and service over the decades since 1967. He also explores the darker side of the 737’s history, laying bare the politics, power-struggles, changes of management ideology and battles with Airbus that culminated in the 737 MAX debacle that has threatened Boeing’s very survival.

Wonderful World of Wheels DVD

Wonderful World of Wheels DVD

Host Lloyd Bridges takes you on a tour of motorsports in the 60’s. Cobra test at Riverside with Ken Miles, Shelby driver of the era. See the 007 Bond Aston Martin and Sean Connery, slot car racing, bubbletops, Craig Breedlove at salt flats, classic drag racing, and big daddy Ed Roth. This is a 40 min. transport back in time. You will be light-headed watching this show. It is the complete uncut version broadcast Thursday, Sept 8, 1967, on CBS. This is a digital re-master directly from film. It looks great! Bonus

Feature: Motor Mouth Pilot

Live the time machine from 1967 to 2002. See how when things change they really stay the same!  Take a ride with hosts Barbi Orr and Jane Norris as they run their motor mouth at events like Willow Springs, You will see many cars from the 60’s still racing today: Cobras, GT350, Vettes, and many others. Also celebrity interviews – see how today’s high-tech BLING BLING WHEELS are designed by Keith Kaucher (today’s top wheel designer). Go to a hidden speed shop in Culver City, Calif., where top master mechanic Steve Beck stores the rarest cars you’ll ever see!

Motocourse 2022-23: The World’s Leading Grand Prix & Superbike Annual

Motocourse 2022-23: The World’s Leading Grand Prix & Superbike Annual

MOTOCOURSE 2022-23

47th YEAR OF PUBLICATION

For lovers of two-wheeled motorsport, Motocourse stands alone as the leading yearbook covering the sport.

Since its launch 1976 it has evolved through the decades into the most authoritative chronicle on the FIM motorcycling world and key national championships.

The 20-race MotoGP championship produced a fascinating mix of races which saw no fewer than five different riders take victories in the first eleven rounds, before the season climaxed in Valencia in November.

Leading the way was the young Frenchman Fabio Quartararo, who on his Yamaha, fought to keep a phalanx of Ducati riders at bay, led by “Pecco” Bagnaia, Jack Miller, Enea Bastinini and Jorge Martin.

Fascinating sub-stories abounded, with the multiple champion Marc Marquez having his season curtailed by recurring injuries and the abrupt decision of Suzuki to pull out of MotoGP competition at the end of the 2022 season, which left the rider market in disarray.

Aside from the premier class, Moto 2 and Moto3 are given ample coverage, where a three-rider tussle between Celestino Vietti, Augusto Fernandez and Ai Ogura were the front runners battling for the top prize. In Moto3 Aspar’s GASGAS team mates Sergio Garcia and Izan Guerara desputed proceedings as the season progressed.

Editor Michael Scott and Neil Morrison supply full reports on each Grand Prix, and Matt Birt brings us his usual run down on the comings and goings of each of the 11 squads in the Team-By-Team review, which has full personnel and technical specifications, the bikes being illustrated beautifully by Adrian Dean’s meticulously crafted drawings.

Full coverage is given of the 12-round World Superbike Series in which Kawasaki’s defending champion Jonathan Rea faced a stern challenge from Yamaha’s Toprak Razgatlioglu and Ducati’s Alvaro Bautista. All the races and the seasons bikes and riders are put under the microscope by Superbike top writer Gordon Ritchie who also covers the supporting World Supersport class.

Peter McLaren provides full race results and lap charts from every round of both MotoGP and World Superbikes as well as complete points tables from all the major championships.

The well of talent that eventually will become the cream of racing almost inevitably springs from the amazingly well-conceived Red Bull Rookies series, in which youngsters vie for supremacy on identical machines. The vastly experienced Peter Clifford charts the ups and downs of their close-fought battles.

After the continuing pandemic, the Isle of Man TT returned for the first time since 2019, and the well-funded and increasingly popular British BSB Superbike series continues to grow in prestige, with an ever-deepening field of talent competing across eight different classes throughout a weekend packed with action.

Motocourse also covers the racing in the USA, via the Moto America Superbike series which saw Yamaha’s Jake Gagne competing head-to-head with the experienced Ducati star Danilo Petrucci.

For 47 years, Motocourse has been the bible of motorcycle racing, written and illustrated by the world’s leading practitioners. The superlative reproduction of its brilliant photographs brings the drama and spectacle of a thrilling racing year to vibrant life.

Motocourse is the essential collectible, and the mainstay of every road racing fans bookshelf.

 

 

Autocourse 2022-23: The World’s Leading Grand Prix Annual

Autocourse 2022-23: The World’s Leading Grand Prix Annual

72nd YEAR OF PUBLICATION

Another record-breaking 22 Grand Prix season saw Red Bull Racing and Ferrari go head-to-head with some spectacular races and epic drives from all four drivers, each one winning one or more races. Mercedes with Lewis Hamilton and new recruit George Russell struggled for most of the season with aero and relentless porpoising until mid-way through the season when their performances improved and some notable qualifying and race results appeared, but far too late to challenge for the top spot.

There were some flashes of brilliance from the midpack consisting of Alpine, McLaren, Alpha Tauri, and Alfa Romeo, but Aston Martin, Haas, and Williams continued their struggle for consistency.

Authors Tony Dodgins and Maurice Hamilton, combining 80 years of F1 expertise, examine each round in depth. Full race reports are backed by detailed results, including lap charts and tire strategies.

The nuances of F1’s designs and development are analyzed team by team by the much-respected Mark Hughes, enhanced by Adrian Dean’s handsome F1 car illustrations.

Motor racing’s other major categories are also fully covered: Toyota’s WEC and Le Mans sports car successes; the closely fought Formula 2 and Formula 3 championships, featuring emerging young talent from around all continents of the world; and the tightly fought Formula E series for electric powered single seaters.

AUTOCOURSE includes all the hectic action from the top Touring Car series – the World Touring Car Cup and the British Touring Car Championships as well as the DTM Series running GT cars from Audi, Mercedes, BMW and Ferrari.

From America, Gordon Kirby recounts a thrilling Indycar series, featuring a mix of youthful talent such as Alex Palou and Pato O’Ward, both of whom vying to overturn the established veterans who have dominated proceedings over the past decade. The ever-popular NASCAR stock car series ran from February to November with barely a weekend’s break, to feature more than forty races before the final championship play-off round at Phoenix, Arizona.

In a single essential volume, AUTOCOURSE provides the most comprehensive record of world motor sport, complete with full results not found anywhere in a single volume.

It is required reading for all motor sport fans worldwide.

Autocourse 2021-2022: The World’s Leading Grand Prix Annual

Autocourse 2021-2022: The World’s Leading Grand Prix Annual

71st YEAR – First published in 1951 – The longest running motor racing yearbook. Independent and authoritative editorial combined with the sport’s finest photography Despite the pandemic, AUTOCOURSE celebrated its 70th year of publication in 2020, a year turned on its head by Covid-19. Thanks to the FIA and racing’s management, F1 was rescued, with a compelling 17-race championship spanning Europe and the Middle East. For 2021 a record 22-race schedule was planned, and despite changes to venues, the F1 championship was very much up and running by March 2021. Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton – now the winningest driver in history – broke more records. The Briton smashed through the 100 pole-position barrier, and moved inexorably toward a century of Grand Prix wins in the face of a real championship challenge from Max Verstappen. Red Bull Racing and Honda seemed to have all but matched Mercedes to provide the fans with a thrilling wheel-to-wheel battle, which would end up with some controversial collisions as the season reached boiling point. Authors Tony Dodgins and Maurice Hamilton, combining almost 80 years of F1 expertise, examine each round in depth. Full race reports are backed by detailed results, including lap charts and tyre strategies. The nuances of F1’s designs and development are analysed team by team by the much-respected Mark Hughes, enhanced by Adrian Dean’s handsome F1 car illustrations. Motor racing’s other major categories are also fully covered: Toyota’s WEC and Le Mans sports car successes; the closely-fought F2 and Formula 3 championships, featuring emerging young talent from around all continents the world; and Nick de Vries emerging victorious in the tight fought Formula E series for electric powered single seaters. AUTOCOURSE includes all the hectic action from the top Touring Car series – the World Touring Car Cup and the British Touring Car Championships as well as the reconfigured DTM Series now running GT cars from Audi, Mercedes, BMW and Ferrari. From America, Gordon Kirby recounts a thrilling Indycar series, featuring a mix of youthful talent such as Alex Palou and Pato O’Ward, both of who were vying to overturn the established veterans who have dominated proceedings over the past decade. In an emotional return, Helio Castroneves took record equalling fourth Indy 500 victory, whilst an appreciation is made to paid to the legendary three-time Indy 500 winner the late Bobby Unser. The ever-popular NASCAR stock car series ran from February to November with barely a weekend’s break, to feature more than forty races before the final championship play-off round at Phoenix, Arizona. In a single essential volume, AUTOCOURSE provides the most comprehensive record of world motor sport, complete with full results not found anywhere in a single volume. It is required reading for all motor sport fans worldwide

BMW M The Most Powerful Letter in the World

BMW M The Most Powerful Letter in the World

Motorsports as passion: Fifty years of BMW M.

BMW M achieved spectacular victories on all the world’s famous racing circuits. The brand also produces a wide range of innovative high-performance limousines, many of which have achieved cult status and have become prized by collectors. This book tells the story of the fifty years of BMW M and shows what lies behind the “strongest letter in the world.” The lavishly illustrated book describes historic milestones in motorsports and presents outstanding models. It features newly photographed one-of-a-kind cars which were never produced in series; narrates the success of BMW M from different angles, describing progressive improvements in chassis technology and providing insight into the teams of experienced test and racing drivers as well as the innovative developers and engineers; and highlights the course for the brand to move forward into the future through the inclusion of electromobility. The publication is published in direct co-operation with BMW drawing images, sketches, designs, and information directly from the archive of BMW.

Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli: 50 anni di corse//50 years of racing 1972-2022

Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli: 50 anni di corse//50 years of racing 1972-2022

This book presents the first 50 years of the history of the Misano World Circuit “Marco Simoncelli”.

This historic track – the “Autodromo del mare” or seaside circuit – has witnessed unforgettable chapters in the history of motorsport, on two wheels and four, from the very first season in 1972 when the facility was inaugurated, through to the present day. The texts and the extraordinary photographs accompany readers along a thrilling exploration of the history of a circuit that has hosted the world’s greatest riders and drivers from every decade.

In a chronological narration that sets out from Emilia-Romagna’s Motor Valley of the early 20th century, the book describes the principal races held at the Misano circuit, from the pioneering 1970s with the unforgettable duels on two wheels involving the likes of Giacomo Agostini and Renzo Pasolini to those on four wheels featuring Italian and international drivers. Then came the 1980s, with the motorcycling World Championship arriving on the Riviera together with F.2 and F.3 single-seaters and sports prototype and GT cars. The 1990s instead heralded the Superbike championship and the Super Turismo touring cars. The new millennium has seen the circuit develop into an avant-garde facility on all fronts, capable of hosting international events and prestigious collateral events.

The volume is edited by Marco Montemaggi, coordinator and author of numerous books on Italian industrial culture and, in the motor industry, former director of the Ducati Museum and former scientific curator of the Motor Valley project. A scientific committee made up of highly experienced authors and personalities such as Andrea Albani, Davide Bagnaresi, Marco Masetti, Luigi Rivola and Sergio Remondino contributed with passion to the creation of the volume, assisted by many of the protagonists of Italian motorsport, always close to the Misano World Circuit.

The Backroads of Route 66: Your Guide to Adventures and Scenic Detours

The Backroads of Route 66: Your Guide to Adventures and Scenic Detours

This wonderfully illustrated, up-to-date guide to the natural, cultural, and historical gems hidden just off the legendary Route 66 outlines 30 trips for curious travelers.
Route 66 is arguably the world’s most famous highway (more than 60% of Route 66 adventurers are from overseas!)—its motels, diners, and roadside attractions comprising a time capsule of America’s love affair with the automobile. While many of the road’s iconic attractions have disappeared with time (along with large stretches of the road itself), others are as enduring as ever.

In this completely revised and updated version of The Backroads of Route 66, author and Route 66 expert Jim Hinckley is your guide from the lowlands of the American Plains to the high plateaus of New Mexico and Arizona, from the Great Lakes to the mighty Pacific Ocean, and through major metropolises and remote country towns.

But rather than take the road oft traveled and the sites most photographed, Hinckley encourages you to branch off the Mother Road and discover the hidden gems beyond today’s familiar motels and tourist traps—quaint frontier communities that date to westward expansion; the legacy of native cultures; and the awe-inspiring natural wonders that have graced these lands since time immemorial. There to be explored within a few hours’ drive from the path of Route 66, discover:

  • Outdoor attractions
  • Museums
  • Historic sites
  • And much more

The thirty trips in The Backroads of Route 66 offer new travel opportunities for you and the thousands of road-trippers who follow this legendary route, looking for something more.

Survival of the Fastest: Weed, Speed, and the 1980s Drug Scandal that Shocked the Sports World

Survival of the Fastest: Weed, Speed, and the 1980s Drug Scandal that Shocked the Sports World

The high-octane, Seabiscuit-meets-Scarface story of how Randy Lanier became a 1980s international sports star, soaring through the ranks of car racing while holding a dark secret: he was also one of the biggest pot smugglers in American history

As a kid, Randy Lanier dreamed of achieving four-wheel glory at the Indianapolis 500, but knew he’d never be able to afford the most expensive sport on earth. That all changed when he bought a speedboat and began smuggling pot from the Bahamas. Fueled by what would become a historically massive smuggling operation, he started racing cars and became an overnight sensation. For Randy and his teammates, money was no object, and bigger hauls meant faster cars. At every event they attended, they were behind the wheel of the best machinery, flaunting their secret in front of huge crowds and live television cameras. But no matter how fast they drove, they couldn’t outrun the law. As Randy came ever closer to reaching his dream of high-speed glory, one of the biggest drug scandals ever to hit the professional sports world was about to unfold.

Set in the 1980s Florida of Miami Vice, this is the unbelievable, unforgettable, unparalleled story of an ordinary guy whose attempts to become famous doing the thing he wanted most—become a world class race car driver—devolved into a you-can’t-make-this-up tale of one of the biggest crime rings and drug scandals of the 1980s. Now, with the help of New York Times bestselling author A.J. Baime, Randy tells the whole truth for the first time ever, a gripping narrative unlike any other, a sports story for the ages, and shocking a true crime epic.

Secret Fords: The hidden world of never-seen prototypes, one-offs and cancelled cars (Volume Two)

Secret Fords: The hidden world of never-seen prototypes, one-offs and cancelled cars (Volume Two)

TWO-BOOK COLLECTOR’S EDITION

The two-book Collector’s Edition of Secret Fords Volume Two follows the same format as the best-selling Collector’s Edition version of Volume One. More inside stories, written in the author’s first-hand words add a personal touch to the Scrapbook. Both books follow the same timeline so that they can be read together or separately. Each copy of Secret Fords Volume Two is personally signed and numbered by the author and the two books supplied in a boxed slipcase with specially-comissioned cover art. The Scrapbook also features a unique cover featuring the mysterious 2000s Scorpio, cancelled CE99 Escort plus alternatives to the Fiesta and Escort.

Two-book boxed set, author-signed and numbered copy of Secret Fords Volume Two, plus supplemental Scrapbook, Boxed slipcase with unique cover art. Two free posters worth £25 folded inside.

Extra Scrapbook content includes Ghia’s rework of an RS2000 into an off-roader, a mysterious large Ford beyond the Scorpio, step-by-step build of a one-off RS2000-based prototype.

Secret Fords: The hidden world of never-seen prototypes, one-offs and cancelled cars (Volume One)

Secret Fords: The hidden world of never-seen prototypes, one-offs and cancelled cars (Volume One)

RS ICONS COLLECTOR’S EDITION

EVERYONE LOVES A SECRET – THIS BOOK IS FULL OF THEM.

In the 1970s and ’80s Ford Design was a hotbed of talent. As its gifted designers thought ever-more out of the box they pushed forward the boundaries of mainstream car design.

This amazing two-book Collector’s Edition is the fascinating – yet never previously told – story of how the world’s best design team created not just some of the era’s most fondly remembered cars but hundreds of others that have never been seen before.

It pulls the covers off an astounding, scarcely believable array of one-offs, prototypes, and cancelled cars that were kept secret. They are revealed in previously private photographs and extraordinarily rare design sketches.

Ford gave the author – a former Ford product designer – first-time access to its most confidential archives and more than 50 former Ford designers and engineers opened up their long-concealed files.

Everyone loves a secret: these previously hidden cars have waited decades to tell you theirs.

-Over 100 never-seen cars revealed

-Design stories of the most iconic ’70s and ’80s Fords

-Forewords by Ford’s former chief designer and engineer

-Insiders’ stories of the ultimate unicorn: Escort RS1700T

-Beautiful design sketches – published for the first time

-Head-spinning prototypes and one-offs ­

Two-book Collector’s Edition includes the following:

  • Signed and numbered by the author
  • Additional Scrapbook containing over 200 additional images and never-told stories
  • Beautiful, boxed slipcase for both books with unique artwork
  • Two free “Secret Fords” posters worth £9.50 each
  • Limited to 600 sets
WRC 50 – The Story of the World Rally Championship 1973-2022

WRC 50 – The Story of the World Rally Championship 1973-2022

Celebrating fifty seasons of the most spectacular motorsport, the World Rally Championship marries state-of-the-art technology with endurance and speed in a battle against both the clock and the elements of nature. Rallying is the mother of all motorsport. Mastering a car on gravel, snow and asphalt, in extreme heat, ice, rain, fog and darkness is the supreme discipline on four wheels. The World Rally Championship, which has been held since 1973, has entered its 50th season. Time to look back at these automotive and human legends from Alpine to Integrale, from Colin McRae to Sébastien Loeb, from the wild Group B cars to the technically fascinating Rally1 racers with hybrid drive. It’s all here in this book.

With hundreds of photos from the McKlein archive, of which many are unique to this book, it encapsulates the highs and lows of a half a century’s fight for the WRC crown: the technical development, the dramas, the heroic sagas and the curiosities. It’s an encyclopaedia of an era of enthusiastic drifting, through to the battle for tenths of a second with the fastest cars of all time travelling on a mixture of gravel roads. A book of stories and pictures about the most spectacular motorsport in the world.

Diesel’s Engine – The Man, and the Evolution of the World’s Most Efficient Internal Combustion Engine

Diesel’s Engine – The Man, and the Evolution of the World’s Most Efficient Internal Combustion Engine

This is a reprint of Diesel’s Engine, first published in 1993. The book is a fantastic resource for serious fans of engine evolution and a great read as well. If you are interested in how the combustion engine came to be, this book and its companion, Internal Fire, are vital reading. We at Octane Press believe it to be a critical piece of automotive history and are happy to have a revised edition to offer to our readers.

C. Lyle Cummins Jr. continues his series on the internal combustion engine’s heritage in Diesel’s Engine. This engaging book is a fascinating and comprehensive history of the diesel engine, written by the son of Cummins Engine Co. founder, Clessie Cummins.

This is a companion book to Internal Fire: The Internal Combustion Engine 1673-1900 and covers in dramatic detail the entire sweep of Rudolf Diesel’s original ideas: the struggles to perfect the diesel engine, and the creation of an international industry that brought the world’s most efficient motor to market. Illustrated with black and white photos and period line drawings, this is a must-read for any serious enthusiast for engine and transportation technology.

Cummins is uniquely qualified to tell the diesel story. Raised in the family of America’s automotive diesel pioneer, his career as a mechanical engineer includes the design, development and marketing of diesel engine retarders and fuel systems for which he was granted five US patents. He has received several notable awards for his writings on I-C engine history. Cummins has devoted over two decades exhaustively researching his subject in corporate and museum archives throughout Europe and the United States to provide this definitive history of the diesel.

Accolades for Diesel’s Engine

“ … eminently readable, even by the mechanically innocent, treating his sub­ject with humor, understanding and affec­tion.” –Road & Track

“This new book is an enjoyable and informative . . . treatment of the subject, from its conception in the mind of Rudolf Diesel . . . until 1918. The author is eminently qualified to write on this subject.”­–Waterways Journal

[It’s] ‘user­-friendly,’ and well worth the time spent for the sheer volume of information included.”– Gas Engine Magazine

“It’s a treasure trove of information . . . In short, the world will owe a big round of thanks to Lyle Cummins . . . for completing this very impressive work.” Wheels of Time, American Truck Historical Society

Marcel Pourtout: Carrossier

Marcel Pourtout: Carrossier

Pourtout is a name often mentioned as one of the greats of French coachbuilding. It was the company behind the rakish Darl’mat Peugeots of the 1930s and the famous ‘Embiricos’ Bentley. From modest beginnings, founder Marcel Pourtout – latterly working with designer Georges Paulin – created a respected business that bodied some of the world’s finest and most interesting chassis.

When bespoke coachwork became a thing of the past, Carrosserie Pourtout was one of the few companies to survive. It moved on to fresh areas of activity. Quick on its feet, it thrived in a newly dynamised post-war France, whilst remaining a family business under the direction of Marcel Pourtout’s second son Claude.

Extravagant publicity vehicles, notably for the ‘Tour de France’ cycle race, replaced special-bodied Hispano-Suizas and Delahayes. Then Carrosserie Pourtout became involved with ALM, for whom it created a cab body that redefined the image of the company’s rugged trucks, these becoming a staple of armed forces around the world. Finally it became France’s leading converter of Peugeot light vans and a sub-contractor for the aircraft and oil-prospecting industries.

Written by award-winning author Jon Pressnell, this is the first history of Carrosserie Pourtout and has been compiled with the full and generous support of the Pourtout family. Using surviving documentation from the archives held by Kévin Pourtout, it tells the complete story of this enterprising small business, from its inception in 1925 to its demise in 1994.

  • 488 pages
  • 754 photographs
  • 290mm x 219mm
  • Hard cover with dust jacket