Into the Red: 21 Classic Cars That Shaped a Century of Motorsport [Hardcover]

Petrolheads sit back, hold tight and let your minds go to into overdrive as Into the Red takes you on a breathtaking journey of motor sport at breakneck speed.

The idea of driving 21 of the most influential racing cars around a circuit is a magical one, and the way in which Nick Mason and Mark Hales relay the thrills and drama is spell-binding.

Almost 100 years of auto history is detailed, starting with the 1901 Panhard B1, with wind-up handles and leather seats, through to the high-tech dashboard and awesome power of the 1990 Porsche 962.

Among the marques that are put through their paces are Bugatti, Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, Jaguar, Lotus and Maserati.

The love, expertise and knowledge of Mason and Hales is a winning combination that brings every page to life. Action-packed colour photographs capture the mood and feeling and the reader is given a brief history of each car and its contribution to the development of the sport.

Statisticians aren't forgotten, either, with acceleration and lap times as well as technical data also charted. But not only is the reader treated to pictures and words--the whole dream is brought to life by a CD which accompanies the book, capturing every note of the highly tuned engine moving up and down the scale.

This volume examines the century's greatest sports and racing cars. Nick Mason (of Pink Floyd) and test driver Mark Hales pushed the pick of Nick's personal collection to the limit under modern test conditions at Silverstone. Cars covers include: the Porsche 935; the F40; the BRM; the Ferrari 250GTO; Maserati 250F; and the Ferrari T3. The cars were driven as hard as possible, and were photographed inside and out. The accompanying audio compact disk contains the sounds of their engines.

Nick Mason inherited his lifelong interest in motor sport form his father, the documentary film-maker Bill Mason. When Pink Floyd duties allow, Nick is able to swap the drumming stool for the driversw seat, and has raced regularly for over 25 years, including competing in five Le Mans races.

Mark Hales has been competing in motor sport for over 30 years at all levels from Touring Cars and GTs to historic cars like those in this book. As a writer he contributes to a wide range of news-stand publications, including the Daily Telegraph, EVO and Octane, and continues to drive and evaluate some of the world's fastest and most exotic road cars.

--This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.