NEW BOOK TAKES A LOOK AT THE WORLD’S FAVOURITE SMALL CAR

NEW BOOK TAKES A LOOK AT THE WORLD’S FAVOURITE SMALL CAR

Mini Scrapbook 60 years of a British icon

By Martin Port

Published by Porter Press International

Publication date: 17 June 2019

Softback ● RRP: £20.00

ISBN: 978-1-907085-94-9 ● 176 pages

Format 240mm x 300mm ● Over 400 photos

This year marks the 60th anniversary of the Mini – a little car which made a big impact when it was launched in 1959. With its unique combination of aesthetics, space efficiency, engineering approach, and handling, the Mini was the brainchild of genius designer Alec Issigonis, and proved to be an instant hit – not just with the general buying public, but also with celebrities like The Beatles, Twiggy and Peter Sellers, and racers like Sir Stirling Moss. It became a much-loved staple of the British car industry – a position that it has arguably maintained for 60 years and continues to enjoy today.

In this latest addition to the Scrapbook series from Porter Press, the story of this unique little car is broken up into accessible nuggets and supported by an extensive array of archive and contemporary photographs, to illustrate just what makes the Mini so special, so loved and such fun!

Story highlights

• Setting the scene – Discovering why this charismatic little car is so loved around the world.

• From concept to reality – Revealing how Alec Issigonis and his team turned their thoughts from rough sketches to prototypes to production cars.

• The life of the Mini – Introducing each incarnation of the classic Mini, from 1959 to 2000.

• The Mini in competition – Exploring the car’s place in motorsport and the famous racers who got behind the wheel.

• Popular culture – From celebrity owners to appearances on the silver screen – including Brit cult classic movie The Italian Job.

• Tuning the Mini – Delves into a whole host of upgrades and add-ons that were available, including key tuning modifications as demonstrated by Downton, Cooper and Broadspeed.

• Mini variants – The Mini was the basis for many, many variations – from the Moke to the Midas, from the slightly strange to the downright absurd.

• BMW Mini – Brings us up to date, with a look at 21st-century incarnations, including the 60th-anniversary model – the latest in a long line of cars to wear the Mini name.

• Lots to look at – Lavishly illustrated with hundreds of never-before-seen photographs, documents and memorabilia that document the car’s past, present and future.

• A very different sort of book – Dip in, dip out and discover all the fun of the Mini!

The author

Author Martin Port has worked in automotive publishing for 18 years – the last 16 of these for leading classic car title, Classic & Sports Car. Over the last 27 years, he has owned a variety of classics, from a Mini Metro to a Morris Minor, a Porsche 912 to a Series II Land-Rover, and, of course, the legendary Mini. The first of these was a 1968 Morris Mini MkII Super DeLuxe, driven from Cheshire to Berkshire with a hole in one of the valves. The second was a 1980 model rescued from a hedge in Richmond the day that it was due to be scrapped. Thanks to the Mini’s unique driving experience, which always puts a smile on his face, it will always have a corner of his motoring heart.

Also out now!

As well as being the 60th anniversary of the Mini, this year also marks the 50thanniversary of British cult classic film The Italian Job, in which of course the Mini plays a starring, scene-stealing role. Fans of the iconic little car can celebrate this milestone with another new title fresh from the Porter Press fold: The Self Preservation Society – 50 Years of The Italian Job. Written by the world authority on the film, Matthew Field, this new book takes a fascinating, behind-the-scenes look at how the film made its way to our screens. It is based on more than 50 in-depth interviews with the cast and crew and lavishly illustrated with hundreds of never-before-seen photographs and production documents.

THE CONTROVERSIAL FERRARI THAT DEFIED EXPECTATIONS BY DOMINATING LE MANS

THE CONTROVERSIAL FERRARI THAT DEFIED EXPECTATIONS BY DOMINATING LE MANS

Exceptional Cars Series No. 7

Ferrari 250 LM  

The remarkable history of 6313    

By James Page   

Published by Porter Press International

Publication date: May 2019

Jacketed Hardback ● RRP: £30.00 ● ISBN: 978-1-907085-73-4

128 pages ● Format 240 mm x 280 mm ● 120+ images inc. colour

Born of controversy, the compact Ferrari 250 LM mid-engined coupe was intended to qualify as a GT car for world championship racing but was decreed by the sport’s rule-makers as ineligible. Instead, the new model was obliged to race through 1964 and 1965 as a sports-prototype against faster, purpose-built machinery. And yet, despite this apparent disadvantage, two 250 LMs dominated the Le Mans 24 Hour race in 1965. One of those cars, chassis number 6313, is the subject of the seventh title in Porter Press’ Exceptional Cars series.

6313 was the third 250 LM acquired by Jacques Swaters’ Ecurie Francorchamps team and one of the last of the 32 built. Painted in the bright yellow racing colours of Belgium and driven at Le Mans in ’65 by Pierre Dumay and Gustave Gosselin, this car led from the 11th to the 20th hours before having to pit with bodywork damaged by a rear tyre failure. Racing back into action after hasty repairs, 6313 finished second to the NART 250 LM of Jochen Rindt and Masten Gregory.

Story highlights

• How the 250 LM was intended to be the ultimate variation of Ferrari’s fabled 250 GT theme, a development of the SWB and GTO, but the rule-makers saw it differently.
• The genesis of the 250 LM, its development, technical details, and specification. Here are all the elements upon which Ferrari’s legend has been built: beautiful Pininfarina bodywork, a sonorous Colombo V12 engine, and motor sport success.
• The race that made 6313 famous, the 1965 Le Mans 24 Hours, and how the car finished second despite a setback.
• How 6313’s identity was confused for many years with that of its team-mate, 6023, until detective work by Ferrari specialist Keith Bluemel revealed the truth.
• 6313’s other major European long-distance races in 1965 at Monza, Spa-Francorchamps, the Nürburgring, and Reims, as well as participation in the Grande Premio de Angola.
• Driver profiles, period documents and photographs, and studio photos of the car today.

The author

James Page is a former editor of Classic & Sports Car magazine and now a freelance motoring writer and author. He still contributes to Classic & Sports Car, as well as other titles including Autosport and Octane. James has written several books for Porter Press including Jaguar Lightweight E-type – The Autobiography of 49 FXN, published in the acclaimed Great Cars series, and the Aston Martin title DB4 G.T. Continuation: History in the making.

INTRODUCING RETRO CARS - A NEW TYPE OF CAR MAGAZINE FOR YOUNGER, AFFORDABLE CLASSIC CARS

INTRODUCING RETRO CARS - A NEW TYPE OF CAR MAGAZINE FOR YOUNGER, AFFORDABLE CLASSIC CARS

A brand new type of classic car magazine is set to hit the shelves, concentrating on a rapidly growing but under-represented area of the scene often frequented by younger enthusiasts.

Retro Cars is a reinvention of one of Kelsey Media’s established titles, but rather than focusing on modified cars the title is going back to its roots, with modern classic cars from the 1980s through to the mid-2000s being the heart of its content.

In the first issue, the Retro Cars team take an in-depth look at the Ford Focus to determine if it truly was the best car of the 1990s, pit the Mk 2 Mazda MX-5 against the Mk 3 Toyota MR2, look at cheaper alternatives to modern classic icons, compare VW Golf Marks 1 to 4 and even take a Mazda Demio out to compete in the Sunday Cup - something that the PlayStation Generation will instantly relate to.

Retro Cars will be published every eight weeks and will be edited by established motoring writer Craig Cheetham, who was Deputy Motoring Editor for Auto Express back when most of the cars that star in the mag were brand new.

He said: “There are so many groups on social media platforms these days that concentrate on affordable cars from the 80s, 90s and 2000s and this tells us that there’s an appetite there for preserving these vehicles as future classics. These are probably the last generation of cars that are within the scope of straightforward home maintenance, while still being rewarding to own and drive.

“The 1990s, in particular, were a golden era for the car industry, with the pace of development and quality of car dynamics evolving rapidly. As nostalgia evolves at the same time, we’re seeing the best examples of these cars being increasingly more cherished by car enthusiasts, who see them as an inexpensive way of having an unusual and enjoyable car that’s perfectly suitable for everyday use. These enthusiasts are the core of the market we’re aiming for.”

The magazine will be published by Kelsey Media, which is a well-known brand within the enthusiast automotive sector of the magazine market - one of the few areas of the print publishing industry that remains strong in an increasingly digital era.

Kelsey Media Managing Director Phil Weeden said: “There are other titles out there that serve enthusiasts of the more modern generation of classic cars, but they tend to focus on high-end, thoroughbred models. Retro Cars is very different. These are the cars that we grew up with, that our readers will remember owning and driving, or being driven to school in, or craving for during their teenage years. There’s a big gap in the magazine market for the increasingly popular enthusiasm for these new-age future classics and I’m hugely excited by the potential that Retro Cars has to grow and serve this market.”

Among the editorial team on the new magazine will be Tom Barnard, formerly Auto Express Motoring Editor, Ian Seabrook, a YouTube sensation with his Hubnut videos, Sam Skelton, a highly regarded enthusiast of modern classic and executive cars and Paul Walton, a former Top Gear journalist and editor of Retro’s sister title, Jaguar World.

The first issue of the new magazine appears on newsstands on May 17th, but those who want to sign up early can take advantage of an amazing launch subscription offer, which includes a fabulous 40-piece BlueSpot socket set and six issues of Retro Cars for just £21.99. You can view the subscription offer here shop.kelsey.co.uk/rca175

MOTORCYCLE ACE ZEF EISENBERG SETS NEW FLYING MILE RECORD AT WORLD-FAMOUS PENDINE SANDS

MOTORCYCLE ACE ZEF EISENBERG SETS NEW FLYING MILE RECORD AT WORLD-FAMOUS PENDINE SANDS

Motorcycle ace Zef Eisenberg sets new Flying Mile record

Record-breaking racer Zef Eisenberg survived a 195mph scare to establish a stunning new benchmark for the Flying Mile at Pendine Sands in South Wales. Riding a specially made 400bhp supercharged Suzuki Hayabusa that was built and prepared by Eisenberg’s MADMAX Racing Team, he set a two-way average of 182.40mph on Saturday 6 April.

In 1927, Sir Malcolm Campbell reached 174.8mph at Pendine in his iconic aero-engined Blue Bird. That record was unbroken until 2015, when actor Idris Elba achieved 180.361mph along the historic beach in a 650hp Bentley Continental Super Sport twin-turbo W12 – yet the intrepid Eisenberg needed only a single run in both directions on the ‘Green Monster’ to surpass them both, with a rear tyre that was found to be falling apart after the first run!

“The bike had been spinning the rear wheel for two miles at 240mph,” explained Eisenberg. “We were using a GP racing tyre, too – the best you can get, but I assume it’s not used to that much power or wheelspin. That’s why these records are so hard to achieve. You’re pushing human and engineering boundaries.”

The MADMAX team fitted a new tyre during the permitted one-hour turn-around time, enabling Eisenberg to complete his return run and establish the new record. For the third run, a harder compound of tyre was used, but the extreme demands of running at maximum rpm for nearly three miles – and constant wheelspin at such high revs – took its toll on the motorcycle’s highly stressed engine.

“I was doing 195mph approaching the end of the mile,” said Eisenberg of the moment the engine blew, “and my helmet visor and leathers were sprayed with black engine oil, obscuring my vision. I lost sight of the finish flags, but I couldn’t just slam on the brakes due to the sand. Fortunately, I managed to keep it straight and bring it to a stop.

“Then I noticed engine oil spraying onto the hot exhaust, but unless I jumped off and dropped the bike, I couldn’t get off because I couldn’t put the kick-stand down on the sand! Luckily, the oil never caught fire on the hot exhaust, as the bike would have burst into flames…”

The critical engine damage prevented Eisenberg and the MADMAX team from achieving their ultimate goal of 200mph for the Flying Mile, but they’d already done enough to break the all-out Flying Mile record for ’bike and car.

They will be back at the legendary venue during the Speed Week on 18/19th May with their 1200bhp Porsche Sand Racer. Painstakingly developed from a 2015 911 Turbo, this extreme machine will be driven by Eisenberg in an attempt to break the outright Flying Mile record.

His goal will also be to establish a new benchmark for the highest speed ever achieved at Pendine by a wheel-powered vehicle – a record that Eisenberg currently holds at 201.5mph on the MADMAX ‘Green Monster’, making the Suzuki the fastest-ever motorbike on sand.