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The Racing Car: Development & Design by Cecil Clutton, Cyril Posthumus and Denis Jenkinson, published by B. T. Batsford Ltd., London, in 1956, traces the evolution of the racing car from the pioneering machines of the late nineteenth century to the Grand Prix designs of the mid-1950s. Beginning with the 1895 Panhard, the authors follow the development of competition cars through successive generations of engineering innovation, culminating in machines such as the Mercedes-Benz W196, Maserati 250F and Bugatti Type 251. Their account places racing at the centre of automotive progress, examining how the demands of competition encouraged developments that subsequently influenced production cars. This first edition offers a contemporary perspective on motor racing during the era of Fangio and the great European factory teams.
Combining historical narrative with technical discussion, the book examines significant racing cars in detail while also considering smaller "voiturette" racers and interesting, less successful departures from the main course of development. The authors bring together experience in vintage motoring and specialist motor-sport journalism, producing a work intended to appeal both to the general enthusiast and the mechanically minded reader. Its 105 illustrations include 39 full-page drawings specially prepared by George A. Oliver, complemented by photographs recording mechanical details, racing action and the atmosphere of circuits across different periods. The photographic frontispiece shows Juan Manuel Fangio cornering his Lancia V8-engined Ferrari during the 1956 Monaco Grand Prix, connecting the historical survey directly with the racing world of its publication year.
This copy retains its original illustrated dustjacket, designed by Roy Nockolds, featuring colourful racing cars arranged against a chequered background. The jacket displays rubbing, creasing, edge tears and chipping, with more pronounced loss and wear at the spine ends; its front flap is clipped at the upper corner. The book retains the distinctive blue-and-white patterned Batsford endpapers, and a handwritten ownership inscription records an East Coburg address and the date 1956, providing a period Australian association. The photographed preliminary pages show age-toning and some foxing, particularly to the title page. An appealing first edition for collectors of historic motor-racing literature, Grand Prix history and automotive design, with the original jacket adding considerable visual interest."
