CAR Book Club: July 2024

To me at least, the Chaparral prototypes were these quirky white machines that seemed to annihilate anything and everything in their class on Gran Turismo racing games. Perhaps it’s due to my age that I never quite got around to learning more about them. That was until this charming, very thick book came through my doorstep.

It’s effectively a biography of the Chaparral cars, the races, the origins, and the man behind them. Immediately upon opening up to the first chapter, the writing style engaged me. The photography engaged me more, and the willingness to sit back and read more about these fascinating machines engaged me the most. The book is beautifully laid out, and you get a nice break between walls of text with the images and sub sections. It encourages you to read on rather than put it down to get a coffee. On this occasion, you want the coffee while reading.

The chapter of the Chaparral 2J had me the most. I’ve been lucky enough to see the beast run before, and it confuses your mind with the combination of the big Chevy V8 and 2-stroke fan engine working in conjunction with each other. So, reading about its development is a real must for motorsport fans and indeed petrolheads. It's written very fluidly as well, which allowed me to follow the story at my own pace, which is a really positive experience as a lot of car books tend to be fact, facts, and more facts.

I also love the illustrations towards the end of each Chaparral model with an aerodynamics diagram and brief fact file. It really helps the reader understand the evolution of each machine, and ultimately, Jim Hall’s genius in Can Am racing.

Giles Chapman has treated us to another affordable publication that lights a warming fuse to our petrolhead hearts. This compact compilation of car stories explores the ‘well, how cool is that?’ side of automotive history, and there are some great stories to be told.

It is laid out like a traditional book with some black and white pictures to break up the text. And what’s more, you get a great deal of variety packed within, which means you never really know what’s coming next – a bit like Richard Porter’s ‘Boring Car Trivia’ series, only it delivers them a more detailed, story-like way.

For example, have you ever wondered what the story was behind Rolls Royce’s Spirit of Ecstasy? Or the sole designer behind the Jowett Javelin? Or the bizarre reason why Peter Sellers sold his Ferrari 330 GTC? Without giving too much away, I particularly enjoyed the story of the man behind Volvo’s revolutionary 3-point safety belts – did you know he also worked on the ejector seat for a Saab fighter jet?

Nevertheless, if you want to expand and enrich your petrolhead mind with some great automotive stories and perhaps take some advice along the way, Chapman has done the hard work for you, and immensely well at that. This publication is a must-have if you’re gifting a friend or simply treating yourself. Besides, it’s vastly more affordable than the majority of car books out there, and doesn't require you to have the geekiest of car minds to enjoy it. Top marks.

The new Bugatti Tourbillion has been making the headlines of all supercar enthusiasts worldwide. It’s the first to have a brand new V16 engine made and developed by Cosworth, and the first Bugatti manufactured under Mate Rimac’s radar. You won’t find any information on it in this publication, as I suspect Lance Cole’s new book was published shortly before its debut.

Nevertheless, Bugatti has forever been an idle brand for designers, engineers, and even artists alike – and this comprehensive book explores the history of Ettore and Jean Bugatti’s masterpieces before shifting the brand into the modern era and eventually under Ferdinand Piech at Volkswagen.

I own a guide to the pre-war Bugattis which was published in the ‘80s, so I was hoping this one would fill in the timely gap that has since passed. I am pleased to report it does – and in style at that. Cole’s book is wonderfully laid out and is as chronological as it can be, and you get a flavour of the artist aura as you read through. The shots of the beautifully crafted panels and engine bays transported me somewhat into the mindset that Ettore had when managing the construction of these cars.

You are guided through simply, yet thoroughly on all the models from Ettore’s Type 1 Tricycle from 1899 to the Type 57SC Atlantic and all the modern Veyrons and Chirons thereafter. The chapter covering the concepts in the ‘90s was an area of interest too, and I learned a lot which was never previously known to me.

This is a great book to get stuck into if you’re unfamiliar with both pre-war Bugattis or the ethos of the brand in general. After opening the book, you begin to understand what made the brand as special as it is. After finishing chapters, your mind spirals into appreciating the cars and the people behind them like fine art.

Something felt strangely nostalgic about this book when I first opened it. The lovely original photography of these rare Mopars made me think I’ve seen this book before. It then hit me that Mike Mueller also worked on a smaller muscle car book that I had nearly 20-years ago as a kid – and he transferred over his images and a lot of expertise into this brand new one, solely focusing on Mopars – the performance versions of the Chrysler group’s Dodge and Plymouth cars.

It's thick, comprehensive, and delves into all corners of the fast Mopars of the peak muscle car era. From the pony cars to the mid-size models and even the pre-cursors of the muscle car scene which includes the likes of the 1955 Chrysler 300C.

The plethora of knowledge and context laid out within this publication deserves the most credit from me. The book helps you understand the different classes and target markets for muscle and pony cars during the peak era, and what all the different trim models – such as GTX, Super Bee, and R/T, represent with their respective models.

The book appears to have been published a little bit short of the announcement of the new Dodge Charger, with the concluding story being the Challenger SRT Demon 170. But I suppose if you’re into your Detroit outlaws, the last of the V8s is where the story really ended. For those enthusiasts, this is a must-have for your book shelf.

Lance Cole's new book isn't the only Bugatti-themed publication to be released. The latest issue of CAR fills in that Tourbillion gap and explores all you need to know about the new, fairly radical hypercar and includes an interview with Mate Rimac himself.

Other stories include the new BMW M5 with its new hybrid powertrain, and the mildly electrified new Porsche 911 GTS. We also drive the new Ford Explorer 300-miles to give it a true shakedown and find out what it's really like.

Oh, and Dacia are heading to the Dakar rally? That's got to be worth a read, hasn't it?

We're taking inspiration from the Ferrari F40 with this beautiful art-deco coffee maker. Like the Ferrari, it's made from aluminium and made in Italy, but it makes coffee as opposed to 478bhp. First introduced in 1933, this coffee maker is simple to use and makes delicious coffee.