The best classic car books

Miranda Seymour's extraordinary biography details one of the greatest racing drivers to be completely obliterated from history. Her name was Hellé Nice and she piloted the most powerful racers in the late 1920s and early 1930s, most notably Bugattis and later Alfa Romeos.

She went on to seriously challenge the skill and fame of male racers such as Louis Chiron and Tazio Nuvolari. But a serious crash in Argentina and accusations of Espionage would later cripple Hellé's racing career and effectively cancel her from history. The book was pieced together by a series of old letters and photographs that went all-but-forgotten for many decades. It is a truly fascinating story.

This extensively detailed book covers 50 vehicles that are either rare, coachbuilt and made in low numbers, or simply forgotten about due to prototype status. It's a charming way of educating yourself on the quirkiest of vehicles in the classic car world.

From the Triumph Italia to striking concept cars, the 50 cars have been carefully chosen to indulge you in some fascinating stories.

Randy Leffingwell's comprehensive history book on Porsche is a bible that every petrolhead needs. It covers everything from the early 356 pre-As to the cutting-edge Mission E concept that preceded the Taycan.

Everything else few and far between has a story attached to it. It's here where you learn the differences between the Touring and Lightweight versions of the 911 2.7 RS and the many variants of 917 racer. For any classic Porsche enthusiast or any petrolhead for that matter, this is a great read.

You’d be hard-pressed to find a classic car devotee who doesn’t have time for an old Ferrari. Their clean and elegant lines, sonorous engine notes and blistering speeds epitomised the mid-century Italian sports car, so it’s no wonder they fetch roughly the same price as a Kensington townhouse today.

Ferrari 75 Years by Dennis Adler doesn't contain much archival photography, but the images that are used are nothing less than stunning and really compliment the cars' lines.

This gorgeous hardback book would make a stylish addition to anyone’s coffee table, but especially that of a classic car owner. This title, Beautiful Machines: The Era of the Elegant Sports Car takes readers on a visual trip back in time to the golden era of automotive design, from Hollywood heroes to the hardcore racers of La Sarthe.

Readers are treated to a car-by-car breakdown of the last century’s icons, exploring their stories, design quirks and wider significance in fascinating text with stunning visual accompaniment. This book is an art piece in itself – pick one up today.

It's extremely difficult to discuss the topic of classic cars without mentioning the incredibly loud (in both meanings) era of the muscle car. It kicked off in its full form with the 1964 Pontiac GTO, whereby a team led by John Z. Delorean installed a 389ci V8 from a full-size Bonneville into the mid-size Tempest.

The culture of American performance cars would never look the same again, and this book details it all from those glorious days when the sun was shining, and the streets were filled with gargling engines and bold paint schemes.

For all the hardcore, detail-driven classic car fanatics out there, this book is for you. With over 1300 colour images of cars spanning five decades, this title from DK books is a classic car aficionado’s dream.

Covering every key vehicle - the gorgeous to the gruesome, the work shires to the thoroughbreds - this comprehensive catalogue explores features of every important model, with detailed profiles and specifications. Author Giles Chapman also goes on to place these iconic cars into a wider cultural context, analysing why their legacy, beauty and desirability have endured, even if their capabilities have been superseded.

A slightly different take on the classic car book, this paperback title Auto Erotica: A grand tour through classic car brochures explores the beguilingly ornate world of retro car leaflets, spanning three decades from the 1960s to the 1980s.

The book comprises a collection of classic car booklets bristling with unrestrained graphics, illustrations, and engrossing period typography, representing the forward-thinking zeitgeist of those decades.

Of course, along with the transportive graphics, the book features hundreds of automotive photographs taken in the period. What we especially like about this book is that it doesn’t just focus on the fast and fanciful but instead presents brochures for the accessible automotive market of most Britons at the time, with cars such as fast Fords, MGs, Renaults and more all included.

A lot of racing fans agree that F1’s most exciting era was a 20-year period from the start of the 1960s to the start of the 1980s. Not only does this spell encompass the careers of some of F1’s biggest heroes – Jackie Stewart, Jim Clark, Niki Lauda and Emerson Fittipaldi to name a few - but these 20 years also saw the biggest leap in technological advancement to date.

The cars were fast, the racing was electric, and the danger was ever-present, so it’s no wonder this period has been documented and written about so extensively. This book from racing author Pete Biro explores the careers of the legendary drivers of this era, the details and quirks of the cars they drove and the geniuses who designed them. Not to mention the incredible tales that have followed them over the subsequent years. If you’re a fan of classic F1, this book would make a great read.