BOOK REVIEW  By Ken Davies Rootes Maestros “In their own words.” With over 140 books to his credit, following a lifetime in the automobile industry and sport as engineer, competitor and journalist, any book written by serial author Robson is worth reading, but Rootes Maestros “In their own words.” – originally published in 2008 – surpassed expectations ...

BOOK REVIEW  By Peter Baker Dodge Viper: The full story of the world’s first V10 sport car Anyone who watched the Dodge Viper, with its V10 engine, circulate the 1997 Le Mans flat out for the full 24 hours, will know just what an accomplished car this was. In 1998, a Viper GTS-R won the FIA GT2 Championship, while Vipers also took the Drivers’ and Manufacturers’ America...

BOOK REVIEW  By Peter McFadyen Tom Pryce – Memories of a Welsh F1 star by those who knew him When Tom Pryce won the British Airways/Daily Mail Race of Champions at Brands Hatch on 16th March 1975 he became the first Welshman ever to win a Formula 1 race. It may have been a non-championship race but the quality of his achievement can be judged by the fact that the four places behind ...

Click HERE – At the Checkout enter Discount code RETRO10 BOK REVIEW  By Peter Baker The MICHAEL TURNER Collection: Over 50 years of motorsport-themed Christmas cards If this book were given to me this Christmas, I’d creep away somewhere quiet, probably with a good supply of cold turkey, mince pies and Scotch whisky, put my feet up, and the rest of the family wouldn’t s...

CLICK HERE – At Checkout enter Discount code RETRO10 BOOK REVIEW  By Peter Baker Porter Profiles: Jaguar XK 120 – The story of 660725 At just £20 this book, published by Porter Press International to the same very high standard as its top end publications, really does represent great value-for-money. Written by Simon Ham, it tells the intriguing story of one car, a Ja...

BOOK REVIEW   By Peter Baker ADMISSION 7/6 – E.V. STARR SNAPS THE 60S SPEED MERCHANTS A series of stunning images taken by a very skilled Edgar Vernon Starr, and purchased by Tim Beavis at auction back in 2004, form the basis of this engaging work, that offers a superb read at a bargain price. Following a comprehensive Foreword by Derek Bell MBE, the 128 pages take the reader on...

BOOK REVIEW   By Peter Baker Drive with Paddy Hopkirk An A5 paperback book of a 1969/70 cartoon series, subtly updated and featuring Paddy Hopkirk handing out a series of driving tips, as they appeared in the Sunday Mirror. This is obviously a Christmas stocking filler and is good enough, but only just, to provide a half-hour of post-lunch entertainment, with a twist. Even Paddy mig...

BOOK REVIEW  By Peter Baker Stirling Moss – Rally Driver  I’ve been involved with rallying since the year dot or, to be more precise, the black-and-white days of 1966, which probably amounts to one of the same thing. Thus, it’s not really big-headedness to assume I know everything worth knowing about the sport. Take this book for example, even before opening it I&rsq...

CLICK HERE – At Checkout enter Discount code RETRO10  BOOK REVIEW  By Peter Baker Ferrari 250 GTE – The family car that funded the racing Well done Porter Press International and congratulations to author David Wheeler, because Ferrari 250 GTE: The family car that funded the racing is so blatantly good its future as a classic reference work is guaranteed. In fact, I like...

Click HERE – At the Checkout enter Discount code RETRO10 BOOK REVIEW  By Peter Baker SuperFinds – A truly unique selection of previously unseen photographs of important historic cars as found in the 1960s and 1970s Books, generally, are becoming so big and heavy one has to attend regular fitness classes just to pick them up. This publication for example, complied by Michael ...

BOOK REVIEW  By Peter Baker QUEST FOR SPEED – THE EPIC SAGA OF RECORD-BREAKING ON LAND Author Barry John, with foreword by David Tremayne, has compacted very nicely the history of man’s fascination with speed into 184 pages. True It’s been done before, many times, but even so, I beg you to find a more detailed and entertaining study at the price. As one might expect, ol...

Click HERE – At the Checkout enter Discount code RETRO10 BOOK REVIEW  By Peter Baker THE Light Car Company ROCKET – THE SINGULAR VISION OF TWO MEN Former racing driver Chris Craft (I watched his antics around Europe many times) and design genius Gordon Murray started out in 1989, maybe a bit before, with a clean sheet of paper, to produce the smallest fun car, and the lighte...

BOOK REVIEW  By Peter Baker The Essential Buyer’s Guide – FIAT & PININFARINA: 124 SPIDER & AZZURA SPIDER (AS-DS) 1966 TO 1985 As a serial classic car buyer I love these non-patronising, compact guides by Veloce, written by marque experts and available for just £13.99. There are no wasted words and no emotion. Just plenty of pictures highlighting the advantages, a...

BOOK REVIEW  By Peter Baker quattro – THE RACE AND RALLY STORY: 1980-2004 It might seem odd beginning this review talking about Lancia. But never mind. With the introduction of Group B, rallying suddenly became much more aggressive, and very competitive. Even so, in 1983 Audi could easily have won the World Championship of Makes. Unfortunately, because of Lancia, they didn’t...

Click HERE – At the Checkout enter Discount code RETRO10  BOOK REVIEW  By Peter Baker Exceptional Cars 10: Alfa Romeo T33/TT/3 – The remarkable story of 115.72.002 When Ian Wagstaff needs to concentrate he avoids distraction by retreating to his small island cottage located off the west Scottish coast. When I met him a couple of months ago Ian had just returned, claspin...

BOOK REVIEW  By Ken Davies. Images courtesy Christabel Carlisle. Christabel Carlisle ‘Mini Virtuoso’ In truth, this stranger than fiction story is a potential blockbuster film script in the making! It’s the tale of a demure, gentile and determined piano teacher from Kensington who tastes the infectious excitement of motor racing while on a day trip to Brands Hatch with f...

BOOK REVIEW  By Ken Davies. Images by Ken Davies Brian Culcheth – Global Travels of a Rally Champion Written by Pablo Raybould in close collaboration with Brian Culcheth, this book meticulously charts Brian’s career as a professional competition driver from his formative years – duly inspired by a proactive Harrow Car Club – to becoming one of the most successful fa...

CLICK HERE – At Checkout enter Discount code RETRO10 BOOK REVIEW  By Peter Baker ROFGO Collection This is a very difficult book to categorise. On first glance I thought of it as no more than a glorified and exclusive, I nearly said expensive, auction catalogue, albeit one without prices. And even now, after carefully re-reading, that initial thought still lingers. Sorry if this sou...

BOOK REVIEW  By Peter Baker JOCHEN RINDT – UNCROWNED KING OF FORMULA 1 Four-hundred-and-eighty pages, plus plenty of pictures, all wrapped up in a paperback costing just £14.99. A genuine bargain. Some say Rindt was a madman, others that, had he not died at Monza in 1970, he would have gone on to repeat his World Champion status several times. Both are probably true. I watched...

BOOK REVIEW  By Ken Davies Gilbern – A Dragon’s Tale: The Definitive History of Wales’ only Production Car During Gilbern Cars existence – 1960 to 1974 – the marque had the distinction of being Wales’ only production car manufacturer. Esteemed motoring author Martin Morgan-Jones has captured the capricious history of the low volume Welsh car maker in his...