Archive for Items Categorized 'British', only excerpts shown, click title for full entry.

The Last Hero: The Gallant Story of Donald Campbell and The Land Speed Record, 1964

by John Pearson

In 1964, Campbell set a record of 403.10 mph for a four-wheeled vehicle. John Pearson spent time with him during the preparations for the assault on the LSR—and through many of the long days and months of frustration, delays, inaction, and impatience waiting for the salt.

Bentley: 3½ and 4¼ Litre 1933–40 In Detail

by Nick Walker

At the time period this book covers, Bentleys were built by Rolls-Royce which had taken over Bentley in 1931 in an attempt to thwart the competition and prevent Bentley from going to Napier which would have constituted an even more formidable challenge to Rolls-Royce.

The Magic of a Name: The Rolls-Royce Story, Part 1: The First Forty Years

by Peter Pugh

If you associate the name “Harold Nockolds” with a book of this title you are making the right connections but this is not a re-edition of Nockolds’ 1938 classic that covered the first 34 years of Rolls-Royce history.

Original Austin-Healey: The Restorer’s Guide to 100, 100-Six and 3000

by Anders Ditlev Clausager

The appeal of the 1953–1968 Big Healeys may be timeless but their innards are not. Naturally, not everything that has perished has been replaced with the correct parts or proper finishes, and the information in this book will provide the restorer and potential buyer with a definitive catalog of the way things should be.

Original Mini Cooper: The Restorer’s Guide to 997 & 998 Cooper and 970, 1071 & 1275 Cooper S

by John Parnell

As quintessentially British as the Rolls-Royce the Mini occupied the very other end of the sociological spectrum. Despite of this the Mini was, as UK designer Terence Conran called it, “a classy little classless car.”

As Old as the Industry: Riley, 1898–1969

by David G Styles

When it first came out in 1982, this book was received with much acclaim and the prognostication—not just by the Riley world—that it couldn’t be improved upon. This despite the author’s insistence that it can neither be “complete” nor “100% accurate” given the source material it is able to draw on.

Alvis: The Story of the Red Triangle

by Kenneth Day

At different times, Alvis has been different things to different people. Cars, of course, since 1920, but also aero engines and armored vehicles. These three main activities mostly ran sequentially rather than concurrently, which conveniently lends this book thematic structure.

The Rise of Jaguar: A Detailed Study of the “Standard” Era 1928–1950

by Barrie Price

Jaguar is certainly on the rise today, with their new crop of XJ models being hailed as landmark cars and possibly the best ones the company ever built. A far cry from the fragile, eccentric original XJ, and, given the firm’s ups and downs, not at all a development one could have expected.

Bluebird CN7: The Inside Story of Donald Campbell’s Last Land Speed Record Car

by Donald Stevens

This book tells the story of a pair of brothers who designed and built CN7 with a mind to break the world’s land speed record. In the hands of Donald Campbell, the greatest-ever LSR holder, this gas turbine-powered car established itself as the fastest wheel-driven vehicle on earth.

Bentley’s Great Eight: The Astonishing 50-Year Saga of one of History’s Greatest V8 Engines

by Karl Ludvigsen

A mighty engine of uncommon longevity, dissected here with customary Ludvigsen attention to detail. But why is it a Bentley and not a Rolls-Royce unit? That’s a whole other story.

Bentley “Old Number One”

by Michael Hay

Old Number One was the most famous of racing Bentleys, the personal property of chairman Woolf Barnato. It was still around in 1990, restored to 1932 Outer Circuit form—wherein lies the crux of this book.

Bristol Cars: A Very British Story

by Christopher Balfour

Bristols are rarely mentioned by people outside of GB and especially in the same breath with other luxury British marques. However the firm does rank right up there in the lofty heights as makers of hand-built, limited-production, super luxury machines.