Book Review: Top 25 Race Cars of All Time

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We’ve got another treat for you guys and gals from Motorbooks.  This time, we take a look at Basem Wasef’s “Legendary Race Cars”.

“Legendary Race Cars” is Basem’s Top 25 Race Cars of all time.  I dig how he’s chosen cars from all corners of the globe and from all forms of racing.  The book includes an off-road race truck, a WRC Rally Car, a Pikes Peak turbo monster, Le Mans cars from various decades, F1, a Nostalgia NHRA dragster and a few cars from the early 1900′s.

The pictures and photography are excellent.  It includes shots taken by the author himself as well as old archive photography from the race car’s hey-day.  Here’s a few examples below of Basem’s quality work.

You can’t have a Top Race Car’s list without the legendary Ford GT40 can you?

Here’s a Jaguar D-Type which won the 1956 24 Hours of LeMans with a 200 HP 3,442 cc Dual Overhead Cam inline 6 cylinder.  The curvy lines of these 50′s LeMan’s cars are pure sports car perfection.

Another legend, the Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe, winner of the 1965 LeMans race.  The author explains the details behind that chopped off rear end design and the necessity of that duck-tail wing to keep it under control at high speeds.  Check out that exhaust tucked into the bodywork, all in the name of aerodynamics.  The poor drivers feet take a heating though.

This book helps continue the legacy these 25 race cars have left behind.  I really enjoyed reading this book and hoped it would keep going and going.  I hope Basem does more books of this type to showcase the many other race cars I think should be highlighted.  Top cars from Trans-Am and Road Racing, drag racers and land speed racers from the Bonneville Salt Flats.

What would you consider to be your Top 3 Legendary Race Cars of all time?  Leave a comment below with your favorites!

Hechtspeed

Arizona Auction Kickoff with RM Auction

RM Auction Press Release:

Preeminent international auction house, RM Auctions, will celebrate a decade of excellence in Phoenix, Arizona in January with their 10th anniversary ‘Automobiles of Arizona’ event. Returning to the luxurious Arizona Biltmore Resort and Spa, the highly anticipated event will kick off the 2009 collector car season in grand style as 125 magnificent vintage motor cars cross the block before an international audience.

When the focus of the collector car world returns to Phoenix, Arizona, in January, all eyes will once again be on Canadian-based RM Auctions and their eagerly awaited Automobiles of Arizona auction event.

Long regarded as the most prestigious event of Arizona’s famed auto week, the annual multi-million dollar RM sale brings together some of the world’s finest vintage automobiles with some of the world’s most discerning collectors.

The grand tradition is set to continue in 2009 as RM celebrates their 10th anniversary sale in Phoenix, January 16th. “We are thrilled to be returning to Phoenix for our 10th anniversary sale and look forward to again welcoming collectors and enthusiasts from around the world to Arizona for what is shaping up to be another first class event,” said Ian Kelleher, Managing Director of RM Auctions.

“RM has been referred to as the barometer for the high end collector car industry, and as the first major event of the hobby calendar, enthusiasts look to our Arizona event for market indicators. Our recent auction results have proven the market for alternative investments remains strong,” he added.

For the car enthusiasts amongst us, the RM Arizona line-up will present 125 important and historically significant motor cars for auction. Notable early consignments for the event include: a rare and highly desirable 1963 Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport (chassis no. 002), the most important Corvette ever to come to market and possibly one of the most valuable American-built automobiles produced: an extraordinary, elegant 1937 Bugatti Atalante Type 57 SC, recognized the world over for its union of styling, engineering and sophistication; a unique 1914 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost Boattail Skiff, well known-in Rolls-Royce circles and regarded as one of the most instantly recognizable of all Rolls-Royces; a 1950 Hudson Commodore Convertible, formerly owned by the legendary Steve McQueen; and an elegant 1937 Delage D8-120 Aerosport Coupe, the only known survivor of ten examples built by famed French coachbuilders Letourner et Marchand.

Additional highlights set to cross the block include: a race-bred 1958 Ferrari 250 GT Tour de France Berlinetta; a speed record-breaking 1954 Dodge Firearrow III Coupe Concept car by Ghia; a one-of-a-kind 1948 Mercury Custom Bob Hope Special; a 1955 Cadillac Series 60 Special Fleetwood Sedan, as used in the Academy Award-winning film ‘Driving Miss Daisy; and a magnificent selection of vintage motor cars from the distinguished Dr. Barbara Mae Atwood Collection.

RM’s Automobiles of Arizona auction event will be held at the luxurious Arizona Biltmore Resort and Spa, 24th Street & Missouri, Phoenix, Arizona on January 16th, 2009. An auction preview will be held January 15th from 9am to 5pm followed by the auction on January 16th from 11am. Admission to the auction is by catalog only, which admits both the catalog holder and a guest. The full-color collectible catalog is available for $100 U.S. (plus shipping), by calling (800)-211-4371 or visiting www.rmauctions.com.

About RM Auctions, Inc.
Celebrating nearly 30 years in the collector car industry, RM Auctions Inc. and its associated companies are responsible for acquisitions, restorations and sales of the world’s rarest and most valuable vintage automobiles, including record-breaking sales in Maranello, Italy and London, England. RM’s restoration division achieved unprecedented accolades in 2006, when the Company earned “Best of Show” honors at the world’s top three collector car events in a single year. www.rmauctions.com

End Press Release.

I grabbed the pictures of the cars I think you’d dig. Of course, the 63 Corvette Grand Sport is a show stopper (anyone else wondering who’s got chassis #1?) but what else is going on the block? Just picking these few with special appeal to me, I’ve tallied up over $1.5 million in cars! This is excluding the 63 Vette. Nobody’s sure what that car will sell for!

2 GTR’s at Stillen Day

Even if you are only slightly interested in Nissan and Infiniti cars and trucks the Stillen Nissan/Infiniti Customer appreciation open house is a great show to see. Set right behind John Wayne Airport in Costa Mesa, California is Stillen. The performance shop owned and run by the most successful driver in IMSA history, Steve Millen. Steve was a factory driver for Nissan in the 90s and has special place in his shop for Nissan/Infiniti vehicles (Ford too but that’s another blog!). Steve had heavily discounted Nissan/Infiniti parts on hand for customers as well as discounted dyno runs and free installation on anything purchased that day.
All of the streets directly in front of Stillen were closed down by Costa Mesa PD and opened up for customer cars. Now I am not too good at counting and easily get side tracked when the bright and shiny are in front of me, so I lost track at the number of cars around 150 or so and that was easily only a quarter of the number of vehicles on display. There were vehicles from the last 30 years on display, a first generation Prince motors Skyline, 240Z’s, 240sx’s, Titans, a whole mess of 350Z’s and G coupes as well as a heavily pimped out 2000 Q45 to name just a few of the models on display. Steve also had his engineering cars on hand to show customers some ideas and offerings for everything from the Sentra and Versa to the new Altima coupe, Nissan/Infiniti FR cars (front engine, rear drive) and all of the Nissan/Infiniti truck and SUV line up.
Nissan even had a few employees head out to answer questions about the newest offerings from Nissan/Infiniti: First there’s the GTR! Two GTR’s were on hand; a white engineering prototype and a Red press car. Then there’s the new FX50 and the newly unveiled Maxima which holds to its roots as a sport inspired sedan with new flowing lines and bulging fenders. The white GTR showed up a little late, still 20 minutes before the show officially kicked off, as the street were shut down and people were already lined up around the block. It had a little trouble pulling in to the open space right in the Stillen parking lot set aside for it as people immediately surrounded the car for photos and glimpses of Godzilla as it pulled in. Reaction to the GTR was absolutely amazing! There were 2 guys walking around with the sales sheets to show they had a GTR coming to them and had Steve and the Nissan Staff sign the order form. In my 29 years of existence I have rarely seen anything have such an effect on such a large mass of people as the GTR did pulling in. This is true auto enthusiasm at its best.

This story is the first from my friend and huge MyRideisMe.com supporter Joe Nagy. Joe’s been working on the GTR for about 4 years now. Yea, I know, that kicks ass. Big thanks to the guys at Stillen for the great event and for letting us use a few of their pictures. There are alot more pictures HERE. There’s also a great story about Steve Millen driving the GTR for a press event. Video’s too!

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