Archive for Author 'Sabu Advani', only excerpts shown, click title for full entry.

TSR2 – Britain’s Lost Bomber

by Damien Burke

Developed in the late 1950s this revolutionary aircraft was cancelled in 1965 after only one prototype was completed and flight testing had just begun. The word “bomber” in the title alongside the program designation “TSR” (Tactical Strike Reconnaissance) is an indication of the friction that would first lead to muddled development and ultimate cancellation.

Ferrari: Stories from Those Who Lived the Legend

by John Lamm

The subtitle says exactly what this book is about. Ponder it a moment. What expectations do these words generate? If you’re looking for a subjective, decidedly Ferrari Rules! take on the world, this is the book. No stats, specs, data, tables or even cohesive story arc here (“And on the third day God/Enzo begat…”).

The Art of the Racing Motorcycle: 100 Years of Designing for Speed

by Tooth & Pradères

Taking up only a small footprint in a more or less open frame, pretty much all the bits that make a motorcycle go are plainly visible. There is an art to arranging them and an art to photographing them. Both are revealed in this excellent book.

Original MGA

The Restorer’s Guide to all Roadsters and Coupé Models Including Twin Cam

by Anders Ditlev Clausager

The 1955–62 MGA is not at all an uncommon sight on today’s roads. Strong mechanicals, easy parts availability, decent top speed, and good looks account for this model’s desirability. Add to that healthy auction prices and you have a car you’ll want to keep at or restore to the top of its game.

Original MGB With MGC and MGB GT V8: The Restorer’s Guide to all Roadsters and GT Models 1962–80

by Anders Ditlev Clausager

The MGB is the successor to the MGA about which Clausager wrote a similar book. More than 500,000 of this all-time best-selling British sports car were built over an 18-year span. If you want to make yours as original as the factory intended, you need this book.

The Hot Rod Reader

Edited by Melinda Keefe and Peter Schletty

As one should expect of a good anthology, this compendium covers a lot of ground. It encircles its subject from all angles by presenting various commentaries by practitioners and observers. Representative examples of news articles, essays, fiction, and interviews have been gathered to help the reader connect the dots about what rods and rodding are all about.

The Book of the Lamborghini Urraco: Includes the Silhouette and Jalpa

by Arnstein Landsem

The book jacket refers to the Urraco as a “future supercar classic.” Well, production of this lesser-known Lambo ended in 1979—and the 791 cars built still haven’t become classics. Or supercars. Today you could buy 10 for the price of a tired Miura or top-notch Countach.

U.S. Naval Aviation

by M. Hill Goodspeed & Richard R. Burgess

After taking a first, skeptical look at the newfangled flying machine in 1898 it would take until May 8, 1911 that the Navy placed its first order for a proper aeroplane, and that day was later designated as the official birthday of naval aviation in the US. First published in 2001, this now revised and updated version of the book celebrates a big round number: 100 years.

The Concorde Story

by Christopher Orlebar

First published in 1986 on the plane’s 10-year anniversary in commercial service this is the only one of the many, many books to have reached a service life—25 years—almost as long as that of the aircraft—27 years—it covers. Continuously reprinted/updated the book is now in its 7th edition and has sold in excess of 100,000 copies!

Hot Rod Garages

by Peter Vincent

Think of this book as a Shop Hop or Garage Crawl, a guided tour and look behind the curtain. This hot rod photographer/owner/builder doesn’t so much send you out for a look-see on your own but takes you along with him—all the while reminiscing and dispensing snippets of quotes and conversations, facts and factoids, and personal impressions.

Mustang: An American Classic, Yesterday – Today – Tomorrow

by Michael Mueller

Ford’s Mustang may have been the quintessential pony car but there is nothing pony about this oversize book—at over 14” tall it will tower over most anything else on the bookshelf. This lavish production is sort of a 45th birthday tribute to a wildly successful car that by then had sold about 9 million copies.

Smoke, Steam & Light: The Railway Art of John Austin

by John Austin

All locomotives are imposing in terms of sight and sound and smell—even modern diesels and electrics—but what could be more formidable than a hissing steam loco slipping its wheels to gain traction inch by inch or thundering past on full bore trailing stinging cinders and charcoal.