- Hardcover: 272 pages
- Publisher: Haynes Manuals Inc; illustrated edition edition (15 May 2000)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1859606318
- ISBN-13: 978-1859606315
- Product Dimensions: 25.7 x 25.7 x 2.4 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,256,982 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Synopsis
The grand prix history of Alfa Romeo, from the building of the Darracq cars in Italy which led to the founding of Alfa in 1910, through the golden years of Vittorio Jano designs including the 158, to the withdrawal of racing after Juan Manuel Fangio clinched the 1951 World Championship in a 159, and the brief return to Formula 1 in the 1970s. It also chronicles Alfa Romeo drivers, cars and results.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The story of Alfa Romeo's GP history,
By A Customer
This review is from: First Among Champions: The Alfa Romeo Grand Prix Cars (Hardcover)
How many of today's F1 fans appreciate that before Ferrari Alfa Romeo was Italy's principal GP constructor and dominated Grand Prix motor racing for 40 years and furthermore, the strong and often inter-twining connections between Alfa, Ferrari and many great Italian engineers such as Jano and Colombo to name but two?David Venables charts the history of Alfa's involvement in Grand Prix since the earliest days of A.L.F.A through the golden years of the P2 and P3 to the first Formula 1 World Championships of 1950 and 1951 and the reign of the superlative 158/159. Understandably the story concentrates on the years 1930 to 1951 and would (should?) have ended there had it not been for the lamentable re-entry to F1 in the late 1970s when a combination of politics, dubious engineering and sheer bad luck failed to realise but a few hollow victories. Venables tells the story with great authority but thankfully left the rose-tinted spectacles at home when describing the many lows as well as the highs. The reader gains an insight into just what motor racing was like in those bygone days- especially the grave risks that drivers took every time they drove. This book will appeal not only to Alfa Romeo enthusiasts but to anyone with a genuine interest in motor racing's history- particularly its human (as opposed to technical) side. Thoroughly recommended.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The first comprehensive book focusing on Alfa Romeo GP cars,
By A Customer
This review is from: First Among Champions: The Alfa Romeo Grand Prix Cars (Hardcover)
David Venables first wanted to write a book on the 158/159 'Alfetta' racers, hence the title, since those cars won the first two Formula One Championships 1950/1951. He then realized that he could not write a proper story of those cars without dealing with their predecessor GP cars of the 20s and 30s, and no book had previously been published on that topic.The place he gives to the 158/159 chapters reflects the original project. It's no mistery that he's fascinated by the exceptionally long and successful career of that model. He found a nice lot of original and/or little known period pictures, many of which even in colour, which are high-quality printed. The story he tells about the cars' developments is comprehensive, having sorted out many points remained unclear up to the publication of this book. Only sometimes the 'how and why' is a little on the short side, but it's still a pioneer work to put all the story together. Race entries are also well covered. The first chapters, on pre-158 GP cars are also accurately covered, but they don't show the edge found in the main topic. It's still a very good story, even if connoisseurs would have wished more detail about obscure parts of Alfa Corse, like the 1937 - 1938 years. The third part of the book, covering the 1970 - 1980s attempts of Autodelta in Formula One is not Venable's cup of tea, as he writes himself the story would have been nicer without those unsuccessful efforts. Nevertheless, he produces a very interesting material on the activities in those years, i.a. the supply of 33-derivated V8s to F1 teams in the early 70s. Such matters had never been covered before, and the unsuccessfulness of the cars doesn't detract from the interest of telling their story. Only the technical appendix describing the cars can be found short, if not inaccurate when dealing with the F1s of the eighties. Overall, it's in all respect an excellent and pleasant reading, widely appreciated among Alfa people
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
5.0 out of 5 stars (1 customer review) 6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Authoritative Work on the Subject,
By "alfoonery" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: First Among Champions: The Alfa Romeo Grand Prix Cars (Hardcover)
Buy this and Simon Moore's new book and you will have the best works written on Alfa Romeo since Griffith Borgesson's "Alfa Romeo Tradition" many years ago. Authoritatively written and including many photos previously never published,it is a highly entertaining read.
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