Competition Cars of Europe

208 pp. "Ferrari, Alfa Romeo, Matra, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche--names that have a touch of magic for all motor racing enthusiasts--together with such fascinating projects as the little known Spanish Nacional Pescara and French S.E.F.A.C. cars are the theme of this entertaining and erudite book. Anthony Pritchard has chosen to examine in detail the development and racing history of sixteen different competition cars, some successful, other dismal failures, but all characteristic of their makers and their national background. The story of the pre-war Auto Unions built in Nazi Germany with almost ruthless efficiency is told in full, while other chapters describe the Bugatti racing cars of the 'thirties that possessed the same highly strung temperament as a thoroughbred racehorse, the Lancia sports/racing cars of the middle 'fifties whose metier lay in long-distance road racing and the Maserati 250F and Alfa Romeo 158 that rank among the most successful and long-lived of all racing cars."