2011 was not a season one would have expected a championship from Brumos Racing. A transitional year, Brumos introduced a brand new No.59 – a Porsche 911 GT3 Cup – to mark their return to GT racing after eight years campaigning Porsche Powered Rileys. Despited the challenges one would associate with starting fresh in a new series, Brumos Racing went on to win the championship in the 2011 Grand-Am Rolex Series GT Class.
Brumos Racing 2011: Tradition, Commitment, Success is a limited edition book by well known Porsche author and sports photographer Bob Chapman. Commemorating the achievements of the entire team, the highs and lows of the 2011 season are covered across 150 pages in this 11″ x 17″ hard bound book.
Get Your Copy Signed
This Limited Edition publication will first be released at a special evening to toast the 2011 GT Championship, Monday, December 19th from 5:30pm-8:30pm at the Brumos Porsche Showroom. Along with the entire Brumos Racing team, the winning drivers Leh Keen, Andrew Davis and Bob Chapman will attend. This will include an exclusive chance to have the author and drivers available for a book signing.
It’s not often that a book grabs my attention to the point where I don’t want to put it down. The fact that the book in question is this author’s first makes it that much more remarkable. Yet that’s exactly how I feel once I start reading C.S. Michael’s “The Lost Spyder“*.
About The Lost Spyder
J.C. Callahan is a man on a quest. Little does he know that finding the object of his desire, a Porsche once thought to be more fiction than fact, will set off a complex and near deadly set of events.
Used to doing things his own way, Callahan isn’t one to take advice easily. While his brash and stubborn attitude bring success in the business world, his pattern of otherwise ignoring well intentioned counsel quickly lands him in trouble during what should be the successful completion of a long and tiring search.
When Callahan goes missing, taking a fortune in cash with him, the only one who seems to care about his whereabouts is his estranged and beautiful daughter, Kristen. Known as a “free spirit”, about the only trait the young heiress shares with her father is the love of Porsche.
In the search to find her missing dad, the younger Callahan enlists the help of one Charlie Byrd; “a second-tier law student and low-rent detective.” The story that ensues follows the exploits of Kristen and Charlie as they search the globe for her missing father.
Worth the Time. Worth a Read
From Birmingham, Alabama to Antigua, Guatemala (and points in between) “The Lost Spyder” is a wonderful first novel that weaves mystery, violence, intrigue, sex and Porsche lore into a page turner you can’t put down. Porsche fan or not, this is a fun read and one we eagerly recommend.
[Editor's Note] Following is a review of Michael Argetsinger’s book Mark Donohue: Technical Excellence at Speed. At the end of this review is a generous offer from David Bull Publishing. Be sure to read through it to receive a 20% discount on this book in conjunction with a discount on the newer Argetsinger book titled Mark Donohue, His Life In Photographs.
Book Review: Mark Donohue: Technical Excellence at Speed
After my last book review of A French Kiss With Death I’m starting to wish I knew more about racing history! I recently finished reading Mark Donohue: Technical Excellence at Speed, a detailed biography of racing legend Mark Donohue’s life. Written by Michael Argetsinger, this book captures Donohue’s spirit in so well, you’ll feel you knew him intimately. There are lots of stories shared by Donohue’s family and friends that make this so much more than a racing history lesson. [Editor's note. We've had the good fortune of getting to know Mark's son David through interviews and racing events. While we are too young to have met Mark during his racing days, we do know that if he's anything at all like David, this missed opportunity is our loss.]
On the racetrack, Mark Donohue was a cut above, he had no equal and his rivals often contested his nickname, ‘Captain Nice’ because of his fierceness behind the wheel. A California reporter went so far in one story as to say that Donohue “looked like a choirboy and drives like a demon…”.
Off the track, however, Mark Donohue was a fun-loving, moral, personable guy that everyone could relate to. For instance, I learned I had more in common with Mark than just a passion for cars: we both wore red socks underneath otherwise traditional tuxedos on our wedding day. Quirky stories like this pop up throughout the book and bring a genuine depth to Donohue’s biography; Argetsinger clearly put a lot of effort into finding and speaking with people who knew Mark very well. Whether it’s about a championship race or trouble with the law, prepping a car or playing a practical joke – the effort that went toward finding these stories was well worth it.
Part of what makes this book great is the way it’s organized. Broken into over 150 short-to-medium length chapters, you can read about a single race or an entire season in one sitting. Argetsinger’s writing style is easy to follow. The book’s abrupt ending mirrors the equally abrupt and tragic incident that led to Mark’s untimely demise. You may feel differently, but I like biographies written in this fashion. It allows the readers to draw their own conclusions and sentiments from the person’s life, instead of reading about the author’s opinion of the person in question. The only complaint I had with the book was totally unrelated to the writing: I wish there were more pictures of Donohue racing! Don’t get me wrong; there are plenty of photographs included, but there not enough to satiate the car / motorsports enthusiast within. [Editor's note:Fortunately, Andrew's complaint was heard and Argetsinger's newest book documents Donohue's life in photographs. See below for a discount offer on this book too].
Overall, I’d highly recommend this book to anyone interested in competitive racing, especially vintage motorsport. Donohue’s career was not primarily with Porsche, but his work with the fabled 917s make this book a good choice for the Porsche fans in your family. Donohue’s racing experiences with domestic brands Chevrolet and Ford make this book a great gift for anyone who enjoys American-made autos as well. As he was in life, Donohue’s biography has something almost everyone can identify with and enjoy.
20% Discount on select books at David Bull Publishing
The best part of this offer, is the discount for Mark Donohue: His Life in Photographs. I’ve done some shopping around and while you can get the first book Mark Donohue: Technical Excellence at Speed a bit cheaper on Amazon, no where is the picture book available for less than the cover price, until now that is! With 118 color photographs and 126 black and white shots, Mark Donohue: His Life in Photographs gives an intimate, insiders look into a racing legends all to brief career. Each picture is accompanied by a caption or comment from either the author or Donohue’s peers (e.g. Dan Gurney, George Follmer, David Hobbs, John Surtees, and Bobby Unser, etc.).
If you want to take advantage of this 20% discount, be sure to do so quickly. The offer is good from today through October 25th. David has assured me that there will be future discount offers on other Porsche related books in the very near future.
In the meanwhile, be on the lookout for our next book review featuring Ted West’s fictional debut Closing Speed. We’re racing through the final chapters of this book (which gives a fictionalized accounting of the 1970 World Manufacturer’s Championship and features the legendary Porsches of that era prominently) and can already say confidently that it’s a must read for Porsche and racing fans alike. On deck is Behind the Wheel: The Great Automobile Aficionado. While we haven’t yet started this hefty hardcover, it does feature James Dean in his 550 Spyder on the cover.
I have a confession to make: I am twenty-three years old and in all my life, I must admit that I really hadn’t known much about Steve McQueen, other than his leading role in “some racing movie.” What’s even worse is the fact that this is not uncommon today, at least amongst my generation.
Luckily, there’s a book that shows the public (and the uninitiated) just how awesome Steve McQueen was in life and how amazing his work remains to this day. A French Kiss with Death, written by Michael Keyser with Jonathon Williams, chronicles not just the movie Le Mans, but McQueen’s career and a history of some of the automakers featured in the races and the movie as well.
It took me a while to get through the book and I was torn between how I should write my review. [Andrew wrote both a short and and a long review. The long review, below, gives much more detail, but does give away a few parts of the book. The short review, at the end of this post, distills things down into two paragraphs while giving nothing away. Read them both, read one or the other, but you should definitely consider getting the book]
The Long Review of A French Kiss With Death
There’s honestly so much I want to say about this book that I’m refraining from writing [it] down so as to keep this as spoiler-free as possible. One anecdote I must share is in the foreword section of the book, the second I read it I realized that Steve McQueen was and will always be the true American bad-ass – Chuck Norris may be known for many deeds but even he can’t hold a candle to Steve McQueen, and here’s why:
In the foreword, Keyser explains McQueen’s son, Chad, was in France for the filming of Le Mans, and desperately wanted a ride in one of the race cars he saw his father and other professionals driving. Each time Chad asked his father for a ride, he was told to wait for “When the time’s right.” As a child, it must have been absolute torture, but eventually, he got his wish. One day, McQueen rolled up next to his son in a Porsche 917 after he’d been filming with the cars and told him to climb in. Belted in on his father’s lap, with nothing but the steering wheel to hold onto, Chad was ecstatic. Steve briefly let go of the wheel to let his ten-year-old son drive a Porsche 917 moving in the triple-digits.
Later that summer, there was a terrible accident during a filming sequence that involved a Porsche 917. McQueen tracked Chad down and told him he wanted to show him something. The two made their way to the scene of the horrific remains of the 917, where Steve, after letting his son take in the carnage, told him, “This is what can happen in motor racing. Don’t ever forget it.” Oh, I should also mention that the car’s driver, David Piper, lost his leg as a result of the accident.
A Sunday school teacher using movies such as The Exorcist and Seven to give a class examples of how one might break the Ten Commandments carries more subtlety than McQueen’s lesson plan. I’m willing to bet my insurance premiums that if I’d had an extremely terrible image like that burned into my head at a young age, the points on my license wouldn’t be half as high as they are today, solely out of fear and respect for anything on wheels!
I’m going to say it now so I don’t repeat it with every other sentence: I was overwhelmed with the level of detail in this book! The cover says, “The Man – The Race – The Cars – The Movie” and it delivers in full on all counts. To date, I have not read another book that covered a motion picture as thoroughly as this one. This is coming from someone who spent most of his evenings in middle school overweight and alone; reading hundreds of dollars of allowance money in Star Wars encyclopedias and trivia books. Anything and everything Le Mans fans would like to know that’s remotely related to the film is in this book.
There is also a very informative section devoted to the history of the Le Mans race, which was very helpful for someone whose knowledge on the subject goes as deep as, ‘a 24-hour endurance race that took place in France.’ There is great coverage of the rich history of the Le Mans circuit, including some of its darker years, such as the infamous accident that occurred during the June 1955 race.
Keyser and Williams went above and beyond discussion of the Le Mans, leaving pre-production and post-production notes in the dust with detailed accounts of some of the more personal drama that developed on and off the set.
I haven’t even started to discuss the photographs! A French Kiss With Death has hundreds upon hundreds of photos with descriptive captions that bring them properly into context with each section. The order in which the pictures are introduced to the readers is not intrusive to the main body and as a result I found myself stepping deeper into the story each chapter revealed before me.
Well written, well organized and well worth taking a look at, A French Kiss with Death, written by Michael Keyser with Jonathon Williams, chronicles not just the movie Le Mans gives its readers everything it promises – The Man, The Race, The Cars, The Movie – and so much more!
A Short Review of A French Kiss With Death
If you like auto racing, you should already own this book. If you think you may be interested in auto racing, this book will push you off of the fence and into the driver’s seat. It is a sizable book, and while it will take a while to read cover-to-cover, its chapters break it down into manageable, self-contained chunks.
If I were forced to summarize this book with four words, I would say this: “No stone left unturned.” For a book meant to encompass details regarding the LeMans movie and the LeMans race, there are wonderfully detailed sections about the 24 Hours of Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring races, to lend context and history to the main subjects. The detailed accounts of Steve McQueen’s life and lifestyle – ethical and unethical bits alike – give this book a stunning personality and reveal a more complex side to the story that some fans might not know much about.
Bottom line, I’ve already said too much about this book, and if I say any more I’ll start recapping each chapter instead of giving everyone a chance to read it for themselves!
For those of you unable to make the journey to the High Museum of Art in Atlanta for the Allure of The Automobile (between March 21 and June 20, 2010) it’s possible the show’s official catalog might be the next best thing.
Most hi-profile art exhibits print a catalog of the show’s featured pieces for visitors, and admirers alike, to read and learn more as they peruse the exhibition. The Allure of the Automobile at the High Museum of Art is no different. What is different, however, is the quality and substance of the catalog. Published by Rizzoli (the same publisher who gave us Porsche: The Fine Art of the Sports Car) with principal photography by Peter Harholdt this hard bound masterpiece is a work of art in itself. With nearly 60 full page, full color photos and countless other smaller inserts, the Allure of the Automobile provides background and coverage of an exhibit that examines the golden age of automobile design.
Celebrating eighteen of the world’s finest cars from 1930 to the early 1960′s, the collection includes an exacting Replica of the VW Type 60K10/Porsche Type 64 (body shell) – considered the ancestor of all subsequent Porsche sports models” – and the 1953 Porsche 550 Prototype that launched Porsche’s successful endeavors into the world of motorsport and race car manufacturing.
With close to 100 pages dedicated to background, history and photography of the cars on display, the Allure of the Automobile is a book for anyone that admirers their Porsche not only as a great sports car, but as a work of art. If you can’t make it to Atlanta to see the exhibit in person, the catalog is available to pre-order via Amazon (it goes on sale April 13) at a very reasonable price of $26.
Behind the Scenes Video of Porsche and the Allure of the Automobile
Video Showcasing 150 Porsches Helping to Open the Allure of the Automobile Show
To learn more about the High Museum of Art and the exhibition, please visit www.High.org
While the memory of many successful racing cars fades with time, that of the 917 has endured, passing not just into Porsche history but motorsport folklore itself. Amazing when you consider it raced for just five short seasons 40 years ago. The word “legend” is overused generally and in racing circles particularly, but if any car can be said to be worthy of it, the 917 surely is. — Derek Bell
25% Discount on Porsche 917 x 17 for PorschePurist Readers. Just Enter Discount Code PP at Checkout.
Like the race car it chronicles, Jeff Zwart’s exquisitely rendered images of 17 of the most beautiful and historic 917s are destined to become the next piece of Porsche publishing “legend”. The pages of Porsche 917 x 17 are flooded so heavily with metallic ink that if it weren’t for the heavy matte art paper and spot varnish you would expect the color to just pour from the pages.
If Zwart’s name isn’t familiar to you, it should be. A renowned automotive photographer and Porsche race car driver, Zwart has directed Porsche films and documentaries including the recent Panamera commercial as well as last year’s Bloodlines.
A must have for any Porsche enthusiasts library, Porsche 917 x 17 is available from David Bull Publishing. Between today and December 11th, David is offering a 25% discount for PorschePurist.com readers at checkout. Simply enter “PP” in the discount code field and your savings are applied automatically.
The Porsche Book
If you’re considering purchasing a Porsche anthology, be sure to check out Jürgen Barth’s Complete History of Types and Models. Published originally in 1977, this is the first English language version in more than 25 years. Consisting of three volumes, these epic tomes cover more than 1500 pages and 60 + years of Porsche history.
Presented in a slipcase that graphically depicts the cockpit of a 356 there are more than 2000 photographs across the three volumes (some of the historic images are appearing in print for the first time). There are also scores of other illustrations (including design sketches and technical drawings), as well as comprehensive tables featuring chassis numbers, engine numbers, specifications, and performance figures.
Similar to the offer above, David Bull Publishing is offering 25% off the cover price to PorschePurist.com readers. Simply enter “PP” into the discount code field, click apply and you’ll save yourself $75.00 (and more) on your purchase. Don’t forget, the discount code will only work between now and December 11th and can be applied to your entire purchase (multiple books). Do yourself a favor and click through to David’s site to explore all the other Porsche books he has available. Please feel free to share this post and discount code with others you think may be interested.
Lastly, and most importantly, a special thanks to Peter Bourassa of MMR (Motorsports Marketing Resources) for his work and efforts in pulling this offer together.
I have often wondered to myself why it is that we are so attracted to the humble little Porsche 356. What is really the big deal? If we are totally rational about it, the 356 appears to be nothing more than a VW Beetle in a party frock. It sounds a bit like a Beetle. Inside, it seems like the same spartan dash. It’s not really that fast, and it even smells like a Beetle. And all of that for $50,000? You’ve got to be kidding.
But luckily, human beings are not always rational. We are whimsical. We have a sense of nostalgia and sentimentality. We recognize that some mechanical things have a certain magic about them. They have a soul that’s bigger than just the hunk of metal and parts they represent.
In The Book of the Porsche 356, Brian Long has opened the door to the glorious history of the beginning of Porsche. This hardcover version of his original 1996 book is not simply a reprint, but has been extensively revised and substantially expanded. The numerous historical photographs transport us back to the original factory in Gmund, to the dusty racetracks and rallies, and brings us the hardy faces of the engineers and the people who made Porsche the icon that it is today. It reminds us of a gentler and more civilized era. An era where battles were fought at Le Mans amongst 1.3 liter cars. An era where a single sales agent in New York could request a new model that would suit his particular customers.
Author Brian Long is certainly not new to this, having more than 40 similarly well-researched automotive books under his belt. And it shows. The book is filled with just enough interesting technical details of every 356 variant produced, yet balanced with telling the engaging commercial story of the early years of Porsche.
I’ve always maintained the more history you know of something, the easier it is to like or love. So ultimately, Brian Long succeeds with his book. He has rekindled my love for the humble 356 Porsche. But more importantly, he has reminded me of the love and enthusiasm I have for this magnificent company.
Today’s Post was written by Etienne Botes. Etienne is an ex-South African living in Switzerland who manages his own currency fund. He has been passionate about cars and classic cars since childhood, and is especially drawn to unique and quirky classics. Etienne has been a life-long Porsche fan and has owned a 944 and a 1989 911. He recently sold his Lotus Esprit Turbo SE in favor of acquiring a 356 sometime in the future.
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“*.
for less than half the price.
, a detailed biography of racing legend Mark Donohue’s life. Written by Michael Argetsinger, this book captures Donohue’s spirit in so well, you’ll feel you knew him intimately. There are lots of stories shared by Donohue’s family and friends that make this so much more than a racing history lesson. [Editor's note. We've had the good fortune of getting to know Mark's son David through 
. We’re racing through the final chapters of this book (which gives a fictionalized accounting of the 1970 World Manufacturer’s Championship and features the legendary Porsches of that era prominently) and can already say confidently that it’s a must read for Porsche and racing fans alike. On deck is 
. While we haven’t yet started this hefty hardcover, it does feature James Dean in his 550 Spyder on the cover.
Luckily, there’s a book that shows the public (and the uninitiated) just how awesome Steve McQueen was in life and how amazing his work remains to this day. 
, written by Michael Keyser with Jonathon Williams, chronicles not just the movie 
, but McQueen’s career and a history of some of the automakers featured in the races and the movie as well.
might be the next best thing.
) with principal photography by Peter Harholdt this hard bound masterpiece is a work of art in itself. With nearly 60 full page, full color photos and countless other smaller inserts, the Allure of the Automobile provides background and coverage of an exhibit that examines the golden age of automobile design.
, Brian Long has opened the door to the glorious history of the beginning of Porsche. This hardcover version of his original 1996 book is not simply a reprint, but has been extensively revised and substantially expanded. The numerous historical photographs transport us back to the original factory in Gmund, to the dusty racetracks and rallies, and brings us the hardy faces of the engineers and the people who made Porsche the icon that it is today. It reminds us of a gentler and more civilized era. An era where battles were fought at Le Mans amongst 1.3 liter cars. An era where a single sales agent in New York could request a new model that would suit his particular customers.
is certainly not new to this, having more than 40 similarly well-researched automotive books under his belt. And it shows. The book is filled with just enough interesting technical details of every 356 variant produced, yet balanced with telling the engaging commercial story of the early years of Porsche.
