Automobile books and DVDs - Mail Order North America

Sport Craft -
Book Store - DVD Store

bookstore.GIF (12194 bytes)

Car Racing Books - Slot Car Books
Diecast Car Books - Model Car Books
Slot Car DVDs

Books about real cars

Ultimate Garages II
by
Phil Berg

Once in awhile a book so important to automobile fans arrives, we simply can't ignore it. That is the case with the book from David Bull Publishing entitled Ultimate Garages II, written by Phil Berg.

For the ultimate group of car collectors and restorers, only the ultimate garage will do. In this larger, lavishly illustrated sequel to the best-selling Ultimate Garages, author Phil Berg takes readers inside almost two dozen exotic private garages that house some of the rarest and most beautiful cars in the world.

For these enthusiasts, a garage is more than just a place to store and service cars. It’s often a showroom designed to display their collections in the best possible light, complete with automotive memorabilia, vintage posters, and photographs, and in some cases even Hollywood-style sets.

The stories behind these remarkable buildings and the collections they contain reflect the unique personalities and passions of their owners. There’s the Jaguar collector who plans to move his house to make room for an enlarged garage; the Michigan native who hosts the industry’s top car designers at weekly gatherings on his farm outside Detroit; and a retired newspaper owner who drives his vintage Formula 1 Ferrari on a test track built next to his eight-car garage.

Loaded with anecdotes from each owner and illustrated with hundreds of full-color photographs, Ultimate Garages II is the ultimate insider’s tour of the distinctive homes of nearly every type of car: from concours-winning Duesenbergs and Pierce-Arrows to classic hot rods and retired racers.

This book is big and heavy (11" × 11" and 192 pages, about 4 pounds) with 260 color photographs covering 23 garages.

BOOK-ULTIMATEG2 - $34.95

Racing books

Penske Racing Team
by
Alan Hummel

Once in awhile a book so important to road racing fans arrives, we simply can't ignore it. That is the case with the book from Motorbooks International entitled Penske Racing Team, 40 Years of Excellence, written by Alan Hummel.

From its modest beginnings behind a Philadelphia-area watchmakers shop some 40 years ago, the Penske Racing Team, more than any other organization, has influenced the development, growth and direction of auto racing in the United States as both a sport and a business. Led by former race driver turned "Fortune 500" business mogul Roger Penske, this team has won more than 250 major auto races around the world, captured 19 national championships (including 12 Indy-Car titles), and have enjoyed success in all forms of racing--Indy-Cars, sports cars, Formula-1, endurance racing and NASCAR. Penske Racing Team, 40 Years of Excellence documents the fascinating history of this unique organization, focusing on the talented drivers and innovative engineering that have been responsible for the teams spectacular and enduring success. It also highlights the key events that have defined American motorsports during this timeframe; including the rise and fall of U.S. sports car racing in the 1960s and 1970s; the politics of the USAC-CART split in the late 1970s; the CART-IRL battle that unfolded 20 years later; and the phenomenal transformation of NASCAR from its moonshine roots into the mainstream commercial phenomenon that it is today.

This book is big and heavy (8" × 9" and 272 pages, about 2.4 pounds) with lots of photographs. It also contains a foreword by Tom Sneva.

BOOK-PENSKERT - $44.95

Spyders & Silhouettes
by
János Wimpffen

Once in awhile a book so important to road racing fans arrives, we simply can't ignore it. That is the case with the book from David Bull Publishing entitled Spyders & Silhouettes, The World Manufacturers & Sports Car Championships in Photographs, 1972-1981, written by János Wimpffen.

The decade from 1972 to 1981 included two unique phases in world-class sports car racing. Three-liter Prototype cars dominated at first, adapting technological innovations developed for Formula One by Ferrari, Matra and other marques. But in 1976 new rules brought the Special Production, or "Silhouette" class to the forefront, allowing Porsche, BMW and others to add upgraded engines, aerodynamics and tires to race cars resembling conventional production models. In Spyders & Silhouettes, renowned racing historian János Wimpffen uses hundreds of rare photographs to cover both periods in all of their remarkable diversity.

In a year-by-year account of the races included in the World Manufacturers and World Sports Car championships, Spyders & Silhouettes brings the complex and competitive world of 1970s sports car racing vividly to life. In addition to the great manufacturers, top drivers and classic long-distance races, it also profiles the specialty constructors, privateers and dedicated amateurs who remained an essential part of the sport throughout the decade.

Most of the photos in Spyders & Silhouettes have never been published before. In addition to depicting a remarkably diverse array of cars, they include portraits of legendary drivers such as Jacky Ickx, Derek Bell, Ronnie Peterson, Arturo Merzario, Henri Pescarolo, Jochen Mass and Clay Regazzoni.

János Wimpffen spent months researching thousands of photographs in archives around the world, and has selected the best that each has to offer. This volume includes the work of famed photographers such as Hal Crocker, Pete Lyons, Rainer Schlegelmilch, and many others. Spyders & Silhouettes is another indispensable companion to the author's definitive sports car racing history Time and Two Seats, and it is written to the same exacting standards. It joins two previous photographic collections, Open Roads and Front Engines and Winged Sports Cars and Enduring Innovation celebrating the history of world-class sports car racing.

This book is big and heavy (11" × 13" and 400 pages, about 7.8 pounds) with 470 color and 120 black-and-white photographs.

BOOK-SAS - $149.95

Dan Gurney's Eagle Racing Cars
by
John Zimmermann

Once in awhile a book so important to road racing fans arrives, we simply can't ignore it. That is the case with the book from David Bull Publishing entitled Dan Gurney's Eagle Racing Cars, The Technical History of the Machines Designed and Built by All American Racers, written by John Zimmermann.

In the more than four decades since it was founded by racing legends Dan Gurney and Carroll Shelby, All American Racers has consistently built cars that have competed and won at the highest levels of motorsports.

One of the earliest AAR Eagles made racing history in 1967 when Gurney himself drove it to victory at the Belgian Grand Prix, making him the only American in Formula 1 to ever win a GP in a car of his own making. Less than a year later, an Eagle driven by Bobby Unser would capture the marque's first Indianapolis 500 victory, with others to follow in 1973 and 1975. Two decades later, AAR's Toyota Eagle Mark III dominated IMSA's Grand Touring Prototype category, scoring back-to-back drivers and manufacturers championships in 1992 and 1993.

Under Gurney's leadership, AAR has always applied a combination of cutting-edge engineering, experimentation, and real-world driving experience to produce cars that were unmatched in their speed, sophistication, and elegance. In Dan Gurney's Eagle Racing Cars: The Technical History of the Machines from All American Racers, author John Zimmermann delivers the definitive account of the planning, development and race history of every car built by AAR. Drawing on extensive interviews with Dan Gurney and the company's top designers, engineers, and drivers, Zimmermann explains how each car was conceived, created, and refined for maximum performance. His descriptions and analysis are accompanied by hundreds of color and black and white photos showing each car's journey from the drawing board to the racetrack.

This book is big and heavy (9¼" × 11¼" and 208 pages, over 3 pounds) with 165 color and 129 black-and-white photographs and a foreword by Dan Gurney.

BOOK-DGERC - $74.95

Postcards From Detroit
by
Roger Hart

Once in awhile a book so important to road racing fans arrives, we simply can't ignore it. That is the case with the new book from David Bull Publishing entitled Postcards From Detroit, Remembering Formula 1 in the Motor City.

No one would ever confuse Motown with Monaco, but in the 1980s the two cities had at least one thing in common: both were hosts to grands prix. In 1982, in an effort to showcase the home of Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler as a world-class city, community leaders lured Formula 1 into running a 2.5-mile course on the bumpy streets around Detroit’s Renaissance Center. After seven years and five different winners—John Watson, Michele Alboreto, Nelson Piquet, Keke Rosberg, and Ayrton Senna—the races left Detroit, never to return.

Now Roger Hart invites you to travel back to an event with drivers, teams, and sponsors who somehow don’t seem as far in the past as the years would suggest. With dramatic photos and insightful observations, Hart captures the event’s rich stories and distinctly American atmosphere. His photographs also illuminate how much the sport has changed in the past two decades, not only on the track but in its overall ambience.

Drivers who were a part of the fabric of Formula 1 during that period are shown at work and at rest, and it is a pleasure to see their faces once again: Gerhard Berger, Thierry Boutsen, Martin Brundle, Ivan Capelli, Eddie Cheever, Elio de Angelis, Stefan Johansson, Nigel Mansell, Satoru Nakajima, Didier Pironi, Marc Surer, Patrick Tambay, and Derek Warwick are just some of the drivers captured in Hart’s photographs.

The leading teams of Ferrari, McLaren, Renault, and Williams—all of which are still at the fore today— competed against a host of now-defunct teams, including Alfa Romeo, Arrows, Benetton, Brabham, Coloni, EuroBrun, Leyton House, Ligier, Lola, Lotus, Osella, Toleman, Tyrrell, and Zakspeed. These teams were sponsored by prominent companies no longer associated with grand prix racing, such as Goodyear, John Player, Lotto, Olivetti, Parmalat, Segafredo, and USF&G, among many others. Enjoy this return to the Detroit Grand Prix and Formula 1 in the 1980s, and prepare yourself for the strong memories evoked by these compelling photographs.

This book is big and heavy (9" × 10" and 96 pages, about 2 pounds) with 103 black-and-white and color photos.

BOOK-F1PFD - $24.95

Racing in the Rain
by
John Horsman

Once in awhile a book so important to road racing fans arrives, we simply can't ignore it. That is the case with the new book from David Bull Publishing entitled Racing in the Rain, My Years with Brilliant Drivers, Legendary Sports Cars, and a Dedicated Team.

Few can claim that their racing careers spanned the greatest decades in sports-car competition—the 1960s and 1970s—and then extended into the 1980s. Fewer still were consistently successful. John Horsman is one of the fortunate few.

The blue-and-orange Gulf-sponsored Ford GT40s, Mirages, and Porsche 917s prepared by Horsman and his team are among the most famous race cars ever produced. The all-star driver lineup that competed in his cars includes Derek Bell, Mike Hailwood, David Hobbs, Jacky Ickx, Brian Redman, Pedro Rodriguez, Vern Schuppan and Jo Siffert. The team excelled everywhere, winning Le Mans three times and the World Championship three times, and was particularly adept in wet-weather conditions where competitors struggled to match their pace. Some records achieved by Horsman’s team still stand forty years later.

Horsman’s vivid personal account takes you to the world’s greatest racing circuits and puts you alongside the drivers and the crew as you experience things such as Jacky Ickx’s prowess driving in the rain, the fiery determination of Pedro Rodriguez and his astonishing come-from-behind wins, and Horsman’s exciting solution to the Porsche 917’s handling problems, with a tail of his own design. The details provided in the behind-the-scenes operation of the team are phenomenal, spanning everything from the operating budget of the GT40 program to the tire pressures used in the winning cars at Le Mans. This is the definitive account of one of the most successful teams in motorsports.

This book is big and heavy (8 3/8" × 9" and 400 pages, about 3 pounds) with more than 250 black-and-white and 50 color photographs. It also contains forewords by Derek Bell, Jacky Ickx, Brian Redman and Vern Schuppan.

BOOK-RACINGITR - $49.95

Vic Elford
by
Vic Elford

Once in awhile a book so important to road racing fans arrives, we simply can't ignore it. That is the case with the new book from David Bull Publishing entitled Vic Elford, Reflections on a Golden Age in Motorsports.

Vic Elford is the epitome of the classic racing driver: smart, brave, and, above all, versatile. His autobiography offers a personal perspective on the initiative and skills required to build a career in racing and in the 1960s and 1970s.

Consider Vic’s 1968 season. It began with his win in the prestigious Monte Carlo Rally followed by a win the next weekend in the Daytona 24 Hours. He was second at Sebring a month later, then in May scored an epic victory at the Targa Florio, which is considered the greatest win in Targa history. Two weeks later Vic won the Nürburgring 1000 Kilometers. Then in his first F1 race in July Vic took a badly outclassed Cooper T86B to a stunning fourth-place finish in the soaking-wet French Grand Prix.

As he relates his experience Vic provides insight on the drivers, team personnel, and cars that defined a glorious era in racing. He offers a personal look at fellow racers such as Jo Siffert, Brian Redman, and Derek Bell, as well as insights into team principals, including John Cooper, who helped begin the rear-engine revolution; Ferdinand Piëch, who led Porsche’s racing effort and later headed Volkswagen/Audi; and Jim Hall, whose Chaparrals rewrote the book on aerodynamics.

Vic’s keen sense of humor comes to the fore as he describes the hugely entertaining and seldom discussed “in between” moments racers experienced traveling from race to race. Richly illustrated with photographs from Vic’s collection, Vic Elford: Reflections on a Golden Age in Motorsports is a vivid, intimate account of remarkable period in racing and of the man whose character gave it so much of its appeal.

This book is big and heavy (8 3/8" × 9" and 288 pages, about 2.5 pounds) with 198 black-and-white and 24 color photographs. It also contains a foreword by Ferdinand Piëch.

BOOK-VICELFORD - $39.95

James Dean: At Speed
by
Lee Raskin

Featuring vivid photographs, personal memorabilia, and telling reminiscences from his closest friends and family, James Dean: At Speed captures Jimmy's life both on and off the screen and reveals an unseen side of this quintessential American icon.

James Dean: At Speed provides a richly illustrated and definitive account of Jimmy’s life, from his early childhood and his determination to succeed as an actor to a minute-by-minute account of the events of September 30, 1955, and Jimmy’s untimely death. The unmatched accuracy and careful attention to detail of this research have earned James Dean: At Speed the endorsement of the Dean family and a personal foreword by Jimmy’s cousin, Marcus Winslow.

Jimmy’s love affair with speed started early. By age ten he was driving around the family farm on a tractor, then on a motorized bicycle called a Whizzer. In high school he was the only teenager to own a motorcycle, a CZ 125cc, and he was famous for daredevil stunts and scaring the wits out of his classmates. In the years that followed Jimmy bought a succession of more powerful motorcycles. When his acting career generated the money that finally allowed him to purchase a proper sports car, he immediately bought a race-prepared MG, then traded that for a Porsche Speedster, with which he competed in sports car racing in Southern California. Jimmy was on his way to a race, driving his new state-of-the-art Porsche 550 Spyder, when he lost his life in an accident.

This remarkable biography ends with a comprehensive epilogue that brings Jimmy’s story up to date. The reader will learn what has happened to the people and the machines that filled Jimmy’s life. This "Where are they now?" information is fascinating and remarkable, and it debunks the many myths and misconceptions that have become intertwined with Jimmy’s legend. Now, fifty years after Jimmy’s death, there are new facts and many surprises in store for the reader.

David Bull Publishing, Hardcover, 11½" by 11½", 144 pages, with 51 color and 159 black-and-white photographs.

BOOK-JAMESDEAN - $29.95

Porsche Prototype Era
by
Bill Oursler

Once in awhile a book so important to road racing fans arrives, we simply can't ignore it. That is the case with the new book from David Bull Publishing entitled Porsche Prototype Era, 1964-1973 in Photographs.

In a highly focused ten-year period, Porsche transformed itself and sports car racing by raising performance to heights not dreamed of. Porsche's sports cars went from being regular but comparatively humble winners in the GT class to become completely dominant in the top category, international prototype race cars. This was a time of nonstop development mixed with turmoil and success under the direction of Dr. Ferdinand Piech, widely considered one of the great automotive minds of the modern era.

Beginning with the fiberglass-bodied 904, which proved nearly unbeatable in the two liter class during 1964 and 1965, and continuing through the all-conquering turbocharged 917/30 Can-Am Spyder of Mark Donohue, which utterly crushed its opposition in 1973, this beautifully presented volume provides a vivid photographic history of Porsche's relentless quest for victory. Evocative images combine with knowledgeable commentary and historical overviews to offer insights into the men and machines of this glorious era. The book also includes some of the lesser-known, but equally important sports-racers, such as the ultralight hillclimb spyders, whose technology can still be seen in today's prototypes.

Porsche Prototype Era will take you back in time to experience the classic circuits, revolutionary designs, heroic drivers, and aggressive competition that defined a golden age in sports car racing.

This book is big and heavy (11" × 11" and 168 pages, about 3½ pounds) with 68 color and 102 black-and-white photographs.

BOOK-PORSCHEPE - $49.95

Slot car books

Racing and Collecting Slot Cars
by
Robert Schleicher

This is unquestionably the best book written on the subject of the modern scale racing hobby. Robert Schleicher knows his way around slot racing, he was involved in writing back in the hey days in the 1960s. Robert has taken this experience and his considerable skills to write this up to date book on the revived scale slot racing hobby. If you could buy just one book on the subject this is it.

This is an outstanding book loaded with full color photos, great track ideas, car tips, maintenance, hot rodding, decoration, and more and more. This book is a valuable tool for the hobbyist enjoying the revived hobby of modern scale racing. The book covers all the latest products by Carrera, Ninco, Scalextric, Fly, and many others.

BOOK-SLOT - $24.95

Slot Car Racing
Tips, Tricks & Track Plans
by
Robert Schleicher

We are selling Robert Schleicher's "Slot Car Racing - Tips, Tricks & Track Plans". This is an outstanding book loaded with full color photos, over 50 track plans, tips on how to make your racetrack more realistic, advice for building your own car and more. This book is a valuable tool for the hobbyist enjoying the revived hobby of modern scale racing. The book covers all the latest products by Carrera, Ninco, Scalextric, Fly, and many others.

BOOK-SLOT2 - $29.95

Minichamps books

Minichamps Collector's Hand Book

Picture(s) not available

We are taking pre-orders for the book "Minichamps Collector's Hand Book". This is a complete reference book on 11 years of Paul's Model Art / Minichamps. Over 350 pages.

MINBOOK01 (KATBOOK01)- $49.95

The Passion of Model Cars Volume 1

We are selling the Minichamps book "The Passion of Model Cars Volume 1". This 160 page book is the English translation of the Japanese book from 2003, detailing many of the Minichamps models that have been produced, as well as the history of Minichamps and an insight into this popular diecast model manufacturer. Focuses mainly on 1/43 scale street and road models. Only a single print run is planned, so don't delay.

MINBKPOMCV01 (KATMCBK01) - $29.95

The Passion of Model Cars Volume 2

We are selling the Minichamps book "The Passion of Model Cars Volume 2". This 176 page book is the English translation of the Japanese book, detailing many of the Minichamps models that have been produced, as well as the history of Minichamps and an insight into this popular diecast model manufacturer. Focuses mainly on 1/43 scale race models.

MINBKPOMCV02 (KATMCBK02) - $35.95

The Passion of Model Cars Volume 3

We are selling the Minichamps book "The Passion of Model Cars Volume 3". This 176 page book is the English translation of the Japanese book, detailing many of the Minichamps models that have been produced, as well as the history of Minichamps and an insight into this popular diecast model manufacturer. Focuses mainly on 1/43 scale road car models. Has many pictures of special editions and dealer versions.

MINBKPOMCV03 (KATMCBK03) - $35.95

Slot car DVDs

FLY99020

FLY Porsche 911 S "The Speed Merchants" with DVD pic2

$89.95

FLY99035

Fly Porsche 908/2 6hr Del Jamara 1970 Jo Siffert / Juan Fernández "Live Fast Die Young" with DVD

$109.95

FLY99036

Fly Porsche 917 K 1000Km Buenos Aires 1971 #38 silver "Martini" Vic Elford - Gérard Larrousse with DVD "Las Temporadas Argentinas 1947-1972" (The Argentine Period)

$114.95