Details: Legendary Sports Cars Up Close

Ferrari 330P4, Ford GT40, Chaparral 2D, Porsche 917, Mirage M1, BMW Monti, Abarth, Alpine, Lola, Maserati, Matra, Serenissima - every one of these sports cars and prototypes is a legend today. In the Sixties, they epitomised the frontier of what was technically possible - and what at times proved not to be possible. In the quest for critical tenths of a second, engine power grew to unimagined levels while aerodynamics became the catchword with engineers inventing some formidable tricks in the wind tunnels. At the same time, tubular chassis, monocoques, bodywork and even brake discs were being created from increasingly exotic materials. The mission was to win the World and European Championships that included famous races like Le Mans and Daytona plus other racing classics at Monza, Spa and the Nürburgring as well as in mountain hill-climbs. This book delves into the details of sixty exceptional race cars of the period that tackled the World Sports Car Championship and the explosive sprints of the European Hill Climb Championship between 1965 and 1969. From the Abarth OT Sport Spider to the Porsche 917, they all reveal their stories embellished by ca. 350 by now largely unpublished photos. “Details - Legendary sports cars up close” is a declaration of love for these automotive treasures and their extreme technologies that is revealed by taking a very close look under their exotic bodies. For motorsport, the Sixties was a crazy era of daredevil experiments and revelations in technology. Racing cars were built with ever lighter tubular frames instead of a riveted monocoque chassis. Wafer-thin body panels and active movable flaps were also introduced and exotic materials employed to try to save the last gram of weight. Also the engines being used in this period were literally exploding with power. And then there were the men behind the wheel of these beautiful beasts who explored the frontiers of the impossible. This 400-page book gives an inside view of the sports and prototype racing machines used from 1965 to 1969 with many previously unpublished original photos accompanied by entertaining stories.