Classic Grand Prix Cars: The Front-Engined Era Formula One 1906-1960

by Ludvigsen, Karl

• ISBN13: 9780750921893
• ISBN10: 0750921897
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2000-04-01
• Publisher: Trafalgar Square

Summary

An illustrated history of the development of front-engined racing Formula 1 cars. The author builds from the technical evolution of the cars, era by era. He accompanies this with insights into the rise and fall of the famous manufacturers whose creations were the ultimate expression of the motoring know-how of their day. Ludvigsen takes the reader from the early days of the Formula 1 Grand Prix car through to the 1950s, giving a glimpse at drivers, managers and engineers who contributed to the classic era of Grand Prix racing.

Table of Contents

Introduction	vii
Grand Prix Beginnings	1	(5)
Tumultuous Origins	6	(32)
Air to Ground to Air	8	(6)
Christian Lautenschlager	14	(16)
Introducing Desmodromy	30	(8)
Eyewitness: 1908 French Grand Prix	34	(4)
The Twenties	38	(36)
Two-stroke Experiments	40	(8)
Ettore Bugatti	48	(6)
Supercharging the Grand Prix Car	54	(20)
Eyewitness: 1924 French Grand Prix	70	(4)
The Thirties	74	(33)
Tazio Nuvolari	76	(6)
Why and How the Nazis Backed Grand Prix Racing	82	(18)
Alfred Neubauer	100	(7)
Eyewitness: 1936 German Grand Prix	104	(3)
The Forties	107	(34)
Enzo Ferrari	110	(10)
Alberto Ascari	120	(4)
Two-stage Supercharging	124	(17)
Eyewitness: 1948 Italian Grand Prix	138	(3)
The Fifties	141	(37)
Charles and John Cooper	144	(22)
Hairpin Valve Springs	166	(4)
Ram Tuning and Weber Carburettors	170	(8)
Eyewitness: 1958 Monaco Grand Prix	174	(4)
Postscript to the Classic Era	178	(12)
Appendix: Selected Specifications of Classic Grand Prix Cars from the First Six Decades of the Twentieth Century	190	(7)
Bibliography	197	(3)
Illustration Credits	200	(1)
Index	201