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.