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 Motorbooks
liked Basem Wasef's first book, Legendary Motorcycles, so much
that it commissioned him to apply his criteria to vehicles with four wheels.
Thus, Legendary Race Cars, which in words and photos - period and
contemporary - presents not necessarily the 25 most legendary racecars
of all time, but certainly 25 that have earned legendary status.
Actually, the number
of cars covered is more than 25. For example, there are the STP turbine
cars, the Jaguars raced by Ecurie Ecosse, the Ferraris driven during Michael
Schumacher's Grand Prix-championship seasons.
We can argue whether
such inclusions violate the spirit of the title, though it is hard to
deny that the driver contributes at least part - often a very large part
- to a racecar's legend.
Books such as this
are all about such debates. Consider cars not included. Couldn't a great
case be made for a Don Garlit's dragster, a Steve Kinser sprint car, one
of the butterscotch McLarens that dominated Can-Am? What about Jody Schecker's
F5000 racer, a John Force funny car, or at least one of Roger Penske's
Indy winners?
Oh, there is a dragster
- the Greer-Black-Prudhomme top fueler, and there are Indy cars - the
1911 Marmon Wasp (which won the first Indianapolis 500) and the STP turbine
cars (legendary even though they never did win the famed race).
Also included is
Parnelli Jones' Big Oly off-road racer, the Audi Sport Quattro raced up
Pikes Peak by Walter Rohrl, the Subaru Impreza "555" rally car
driven by Colin McRae.
And the Ford GT40s,
Aston Martin DBR1, Carroll Shelby's Cobra Daytona coupe, the Porsche 962C
and 917, and, yes, the Mercedes-Benz 300SLR.
Included as well:
the original Mercedes-Benz "Silver Arrows," the famed Auto-Union
Grand Prix cars, the Lotus 49 and 79, the Ferrari 156. Also the "Million-Franc"
Delahaye, the Maserati 250F raced by Juan Manuel Fangio and the Plymouth
SuperBird driven by Richard Petty.
But not a Jimmie
Johnson Lowe's or a Dale Earnhardt Goodwrench? Not a Monte Carlo rally
Mini? What about something from Paris-Dakar or the Trans Am? And isn't
the Formula Ford a legendary race car considering the careers it launched?
Fear not. Note that
the title of the book is Legendary Race Cars, which, of course,
leaves room for More Legendary Race Cars. They're out there. Let's
hope Motorbooks sends Wasef to pursue them.
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