Book Review

This book, beautifully illustrated, fulfils a long-felt want, because, however much one knows about those racing cars which figured prominently in pre-1939 racing and are met with in today’s races and sprints, details of their specifications and detail differences between individual examples cannot readily be carried in one’s memory.

This book sets out to show how cars such as the 1 1/2- and 3-litre Mercedes-Benz, 3-litre Auto-Union, 1 1/2-litre Delage, 1937 and 1939 Alias, “3.3” Bugatti and the various types of E.R.A., Maserati, Alfa-Romeo, etc., twin-cam Austin, R-type M.G., etc, originated, how they were developed, who drove them, and what became of cars sold outside official teams. The author has a happy knack of giving plenty of technical information without making heavy weather of his explanations and of showing just how each of the famous racing cars that he chooses to describe fitted into racing history.

Each car is illustrated with a full-page photograph which shows clearly technically-significant aspects, and the book is right up to date in covering the Cisitalia, a host of which are shown issuing from the assembly line.

The book contains a wealth of data and very few apparent errors. The Type No. of the 1 1/2-litre Mercedes-Benz is incorrectly given in the caption to its picture, but this is being corrected in later editions. Nothing quite like this book, which puts in proper perspective most of the great racing cars of our time, has happened before. No wonder one authority has said that it will soon be accepted as a standard work of reference and that the publishers have been praised by no less a person than Raymond Mays himself. With a Foreword by the Editor of Motor Sport, “Racing Car Review” runs to 121 landscape pages, is bound in blue cloth with gilt lettering and has a pictorial dust-jacket. At 7s. 6d. it is really good value and should be re-issued at intervals, as racing car trends justify new editions. M.C.

MC.