Books & Models
The secret collection of Mercedes-benz exposed, and Schumacher’s F3 Reynard arrives in 1:18
By Christof Vieweg, £55, delius-klasing.de, ISBN 978 3 667 11667 3 Books about museums can stray unwittingly into either coffee-table territory or end up reading like a guide bought at a ticket desk, which makes Christof Vieweg’s Holy Halls, subtitled ‘The secret vehicle collection of Mercedes-benz’, an impressive achievement. Vieweg has been granted privileged access to the entirety of Mercedes’ wheeled archive. Combining Igor Panitz’s excellent, indulgent photography with a careful curation of models with which to tell the Mercedes-benz story, Vieweg focuses on the less-than-obvious at all times.
This is a story of prototypes, ideas and, sometimes, big dreams thwarted by economic disaster. So instead of the well-worn greatest hits, this is Mercedes the erratic innovator. Want to see the budget Merc that inspired Volkswagen, the world’s first mid-engined sports car (from 1935) or the bizarre supermini intended to be the basis of a Group B rally car? This book’s for you.
Gilbern Cars By Michael Burgess, £14.99, amberley-books.com, ISBN 978 1 4456 9091 9
This is a timely release, given our Life Cycle story on the Gilbern T11 prototype in this issue (p98). Michael Burgess’s book also fills the void in literature on Gilbern. The book follows Amberley’s usual format – compact design packing a comprehensive marque history into 96 softbound pages without leaving you feeling short-changed. Burgess is a great storyteller, and the tale of Gilbern is an entertaining and heartbreaking one.
The narrative is conversational, packed with facts regarding the technical evolution of the cars, but focusing on the people and circumstances that made, then broke, the Gilbern marque. As Burgess explains, the optimistic rise of the idealistic car company from Llantwit was hobbled by experimental engines lost at sea, meddling governmental policy and war – all in the space of 14 years. You couldn’t make it up. Superb.
50 Years Porsche 914 By Jürgen Lewandowski, £45, delius-klasing.de, ISBN 978 3 667 11458 7
For a book released under Porsche’s own banner (admittedly by Delius Klasing), this half-century retrospective on one of the brand’s most controversial cars is commendably candid. Lewandowski, drawing directly on multiple Porsche sources, tells the tortuous story of the small, affordable sports car.
The political, development and motor sport story of the car is told in 224 beautifully illustrated pages, along with its second lease of life as a basis for concept cars. This includes the mystery of the prototype that resurfaced at Essen a few years ago, only just solved. Far from a footnote in the Porsche story, and a crucial addition to any aircooled library.