High Performance: When Britain Ruled the Roads

High Performance: When Britain Ruled the Roads by Peter Grimsdale


ISBN
9781471168468
Published
Binding
Paperback

‘A band of stubborn pioneers rose from the embers of Britain's cities after World War Two and created the finest automobiles the world had ever seen ... High Performance tells the exhilarating tale of their journey down the fast lane.' Ben Collins, bestselling author of The Man In The White Suit and How To Drive In January 1964 a team of tiny red and white Mini Coopers stunned the world by winning the legendary Monte Carlo Rally. It was a stellar year for British cars that culminated in Goldfinger breaking box office records and making James Bond's Aston Martin DB5 the world's most famous sports car. By the sixties, on road, track and silver screen the Brits were the ones to beat, winning championships and capturing hearts. Stirling Moss, Jim Clark and Paddy Hopkirk were household names who drove the sexiest and most innovative cars. Designers like John Cooper, and Colin Chapman of Lotus, dismissed as mere ‘garagisti' by Enzo Ferrari, blew the doors off Formula One and grabbed all the prizes, while Alex Issigonis won a knighthood for his revolutionary Mini. The E Type Jaguar was feted as the world's sexiest car and Land Rover the most durable. But before the Second World War only one British car had triumphed in a Grand Prix; Britain's car builders were fiercely risk-averse. So what changed? To find out, Peter Grimsdale has gone in search of a generation of rebel creative spirits who emerged from railway arches and Nissen huts to tear up the rulebook with their revolutionary machines. Like the serial fugitives from the POW camps, they thrived on adversity, improvisation and sheer obstinate determination. Blazing the trail for them was William Lyons, whose heart-stoppingly glamorous and uncompromising Jaguars propelled a bruised and bankrupt nation out of the shadows of war, winning the fans in Hollywood and beating ‘those bloody red cars' at Le Mans. High Performance celebrates Britain's automotive golden age and the mavericks who sketched them on the back of envelopes and garage floors, who fettled, bolted and welded them together and hammered the competition in the showroom, on the road and on the track - fuelled by contempt for convention.
March Book Frenzy (Online Only)
26.39
RRP: $32.99
20% off RRP


This product is unable to be ordered online. Please check in-store availability.
Instore Price: $32.99
Enter your Postcode or Suburb to view availability and delivery times.

Other Titles by Peter Grimsdale

Racing In The Dark
45.00
36.00
20% Off
Racing In The Dark
24.99
19.99
20% Off

You might also like

Holden The Great Years The Great Cars
29.99
17.99
40% Off
The Cars Of The 50s
59.99
47.99
20% Off
F1 Confidential
34.99
27.99
20% Off

RRP refers to the Recommended Retail Price as set out by the original publisher at time of release.
The RRP set by overseas publishers may vary to those set by local publishers due to exchange rates and shipping costs.
Due to our competitive pricing, we may have not sold all products at their original RRP.