Overview
Today, one cannot escape the fact that the words ‘Porsche' and ‘racing' go hand in hand. This book follows Porsche's year-by-year progress in top flight racing, and looks in detail at the pure competition cars that brought the German marque such immense success on the tracks and worldwide acclaim. This particular volume starts with the story of the giant-killing 550 Spyders of 1953 vintage, and takes the reader through a series of racing models, including the glorious 917, up to 1975 via contemporary photography and words from an acknowledged Porsche authority. A second volume covers the years 1976 onwards. The book includes detailed year by year coverage of Porsche's top class racing exploits, accompanied by over 600 excellent photos.
Full Product Details
Author: Brian Long
Publisher: David & Charles
Imprint: Veloce
Dimensions:
Width: 25.80cm
, Height: 2.90cm
, Length: 26.10cm
Weight: 1.672kg
ISBN: 9781904788447
ISBN 10: 1904788440
Pages: 272
Publication Date: 15 September 2008
Audience:
General/trade
,
General
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: In Print
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Reviews
Speedscene, December 2008<br> The magazine of the Hillclimb and Sprint association<br> Porsche cars are among the most documented of all motoring icons and marque expert Brian Long has been responsible for a large percentage of the recognized works on the legendary German machines, many of them written for Veloce. But somehow this trained mechanical engineer and Porsche 911 owner, through his strong links with the factory or over a decade, never fails to come up with new facts, figures and, above all, photographs, with which this typically sumptuous offering from one of our leading automotive book publishers is particularly well endowed. After a brief outline of the well-known - at least to enthusiasts - Porsche family history the competition history of the cars themselves begins with the 1953 550 Spyders. Every subsequent racing model is covered, through the sports cars, the relatively short-lived 1.5-litre F1 cars and the highly successful hillclimbers, through to the charismatic 917
Startline magazine, December 2008UK magazineThe words 'Porsche' and 'racing' go hand in hand.This book follows Porsche's year-by-year exploits in top flight motor racing, and looks in detail at the pure competition cars that brought the German marque such immense success in motorsport, and, with it, worldwide acclaim.This volume begins with the story of the giant-killing 550 Spyders of 1953 vintage and takes the reader through a series of racing models, including the glorious 917, up to 1975 via contemporary photography and deeply researched, extremely readable text from an acknowledged Porsche authority.A second volume covers 1976 onwards.Australian Classic Cars, March 2009Australian magazineThis title is the first of two books Brian Long has written on Porsche racing cars. In this volume, Long concentrates on the exploits of Porsche's pure, early racers beginning with the 550 Spyders appearing in 1953 through the GT cars in the 1960s to the supercars of the mid-1970s. He identifies the cars falling in between as motorsport and design milestones that other manufacturers used as benchmarks for automotive development. The first chapter, named 'Setting the Scene', will help Porsche newcomers with detailed biographies of Professor Ferdinand Porsche and his son Ferry, set in the context of their company's growth. This growth begins with the design of the Volkswagen and later motor sport projects with Cisitalia and Carlo Abarth after WWII, even before the 550 Spyders.Though Long's approach, focus and presentation throughout this book are undeniably technical, the contemporary photographs and other images, all thoroughly captioned, save the day for readers like me, more attuned to history and the human side of this story. He has written a chapter for each year from 1953 to 1975, and gives readers an important tip in the first of these chapters - the harshness of the war has influenced Porsche thinking, and the concept of 'evolution' is crucial at the factory. Nothing eve
Startline magazine, December 2008<br> UK magazine <br> The words 'Porsche' and 'racing' go hand in hand. This book follows Porsche's year-by-year exploits in top flight motor racing, and looks in detail at the pure competition cars that brought the German marque such immense success in motorsport, and, with it, worldwide acclaim. This volume begins with the story of the giant-killing 550 Spyders of 1953 vintage and takes the reader through a series of racing models, including the glorious 917, up to 1975 via contemporary photography and deeply researched, extremely readable text from an acknowledged Porsche authority. A second volume covers 1976 onwards. Australian Classic Cars, March 2009<br> Australian magazine <br> This title is the first of two books Brian Long has written on Porsche racing cars. In this volume, Long concentrates on the exploits of Porsche's pure, early racers beginning with the 550 Spyders appearing in 1953 through the GT cars in the 1960s to the supercars of the mid-1970s. He identifies the cars falling in between as motorsport and design milestones that other manufacturers used as benchmarks for automotive development. The first chapter, named 'Setting the Scene', will help Porsche newcomers with detailed biographies of Professor Ferdinand Porsche and his son Ferry, set in the context of their company's growth. This growth begins with the design of the Volkswagen and later motor sport projects with Cisitalia and Carlo Abarth after WWII, even before the 550 Spyders. Though Long's approach, focus and presentation throughout this book are undeniably technical, the contemporary photographs and other images, all thoroughly captioned, save the day for readerslike me, more attuned to history and the human side of this story. He has written a chapter for each year from 1953 to 1975, and gives readers an important tip in the first of these chapters - the harshness of the war has influenced Porsche thinking, and the concept of 'evolution' is crucial at the factory. Nothing ever goes to waste, and the gentle refinement of ideas takes precedence over making headlines with revolutionary concepts at odds with theories established by Ferry Porsche and his father. The philosophy is in evidence through the ensuing chapters. Each race that Porsche entered became a learning opportunity for improvement. Instead of adopting radical innovations, progressive changes kept Porsche at the cutting edge at Le Mans, Targa Florio, Mille Miglia and Monte Carlo, and Sebring and Daytona.
"this book should not be missing in the library of anyone who dares call [themselves] a Porschist. Oldtimer Magazine/ Dreamcar Magazine Startline magazine, December 2008UK magazine The words 'Porsche' and 'racing' go hand in hand. This book follows Porsche's year-by-year exploits in top flight motor racing, and looks in detail at the pure competition cars that brought the German marque such immense success in motorsport, and, with it, worldwide acclaim. This volume begins with the story of the giant-killing 550 Spyders of 1953 vintage and takes the reader through a series of racing models, including the glorious 917, up to 1975 via contemporary photography and deeply researched, extremely readable text from an acknowledged Porsche authority. A second volume covers 1976 onwards. Australian Classic Cars, March 2009Australian magazine This title is the first of two books Brian Long has written on Porsche racing cars. In this volume, Long concentrates on the exploits of Porsche's pure, early racers beginning with the 550 Spyders appearing in 1953 through the GT cars in the 1960s to the supercars of the mid-1970s. He identifies the cars falling in between as motorsport and design milestones that other manufacturers used as benchmarks for automotive development. The first chapter, named 'Setting the Scene', will help Porsche newcomers with detailed biographies of Professor Ferdinand Porsche and his son Ferry, set in the context of their company's growth. This growth begins with the design of the Volkswagen and later motor sport projects with Cisitalia and Carlo Abarth after WWII, even before the 550 Spyders. Though Long's approach, focus and presentation throughout this book are undeniably technical, the contemporary photographs and other images, all thoroughly captioned, save the day for readers like me, more attuned to history and the human side of this story. He has written a chapter for each year from 1953 to 1975, and gives readers an important tip in the first of these chapters the harshness of the war has influenced Porsche thinking, and the concept of 'evolution' is crucial at the factory. ""Nothing ever goes to waste, and the gentle refinement of ideas takes precedence over making headlines with revolutionary concepts at odds with theories established by Ferry Porsche and his father."" The philosophy is in evidence through the ensuing chapters. Each race that Porsche entered became a learning opportunity for improvement. Instead of adopting radical innovations, progressive changes kept Porsche at the cutting edge at Le Mans, Targa Florio, Mille Miglia and Monte Carlo, and Sebring and Daytona. """
Author Information
Born in Coventry, the heart of Britain's motor industry, Brian comes from a family with a proud heritage in the automotive and aviation fields. He trained as a mechanical engineer, and worked for a time at his father's garage. Brian became heavily involved in the classic car scene at 19, and says he turned to writing by accident. He now writes full-time and, since 1990, when his first book was released, he has had over 80 titles published. Brian and his wife, Miho, have two children, Louis and Sophie-Mercedes. They currently live in Chiba, close to Tokyo, where they can enjoy life with their Dobermann and a Thoroughbred racehorse, now retired from the tracks.
