Porsche Racing Cars: 1953 to 1975

Born in Coventry, the heart of Britain's motor industry, Brian comes from a family with a proud heritage in the automotive and aviation fields. He trained as a mechanical engineer, and worked for a time at his father's garage. Brian became heavily involved in the classic car scene at 19, and says he turned to writing by accident. He now writes full-time and, since 1990, when his first book was released, he has had over 80 titles published. Brian and his wife, Miho, have two children, Louis and Sophie-Mercedes. They currently live in Chiba, close to Tokyo, where they can enjoy life with their Dobermann and a Thoroughbred racehorse, now retired from the tracks.

this book should not be missing in the library of anyone who dares call [themselves] a Porschist. Oldtimer Magazine/ Dreamcar Magazine Startline magazine, December 2008UK magazine The words 'Porsche' and 'racing' go hand in hand. This book follows Porsche's year-by-year exploits in top flight motor racing, and looks in detail at the pure competition cars that brought the German marque such immense success in motorsport, and, with it, worldwide acclaim. This volume begins with the story of the giant-killing 550 Spyders of 1953 vintage and takes the reader through a series of racing models, including the glorious 917, up to 1975 via contemporary photography and deeply researched, extremely readable text from an acknowledged Porsche authority. A second volume covers 1976 onwards. Australian Classic Cars, March 2009Australian magazine This title is the first of two books Brian Long has written on Porsche racing cars. In this volume, Long concentrates on the exploits of Porsche's pure, early racers beginning with the 550 Spyders appearing in 1953 through the GT cars in the 1960s to the supercars of the mid-1970s. He identifies the cars falling in between as motorsport and design milestones that other manufacturers used as benchmarks for automotive development. The first chapter, named 'Setting the Scene', will help Porsche newcomers with detailed biographies of Professor Ferdinand Porsche and his son Ferry, set in the context of their company's growth. This growth begins with the design of the Volkswagen and later motor sport projects with Cisitalia and Carlo Abarth after WWII, even before the 550 Spyders. Though Long's approach, focus and presentation throughout this book are undeniably technical, the contemporary photographs and other images, all thoroughly captioned, save the day for readers like me, more attuned to history and the human side of this story. He has written a chapter for each year from 1953 to 1975, and gives readers an important tip in the first of these chapters the harshness of the war has influenced Porsche thinking, and the concept of 'evolution' is crucial at the factory. "Nothing ever goes to waste, and the gentle refinement of ideas takes precedence over making headlines with revolutionary concepts at odds with theories established by Ferry Porsche and his father." The philosophy is in evidence through the ensuing chapters. Each race that Porsche entered became a learning opportunity for improvement. Instead of adopting radical innovations, progressive changes kept Porsche at the cutting edge at Le Mans, Targa Florio, Mille Miglia and Monte Carlo, and Sebring and Daytona. "

• Introduction & acknowledgements - Setting the scene The VW project & WWII aftermath The Spyder's predecessors - 1953 A return to first principles Birth of the Spyder Race record The 1953 Carrera Panamericana - 1954 Competition in 1954 The customer cars - 1955 Competition in 1955 - 1956 The 550A The Mille Miglia & beyond Specials - 1957 The 718 RSK The season continues The European Hillclimb Championship The F2 campaign - 1958 The RSK era The F2 programme - 1959 Competition in 1959 Porsche single-seaters - 1960 The RS60 The Italian connection Sports car review Other races The 1960 single-seater season - 1961 1961 upgrades The 1961 sports car season The 1961 Grand Prix season - 1962 The 1962 season The end of Grand Prix racing - 1963 The DKS The classic races - 1964 The Type 904 1964 season review The Elva-Porsche - 1965 The races The European Hillclimb Championship - 1966 The Carrera 6 Season reflections - 1967 Porsche's new gladiators 1967 - a good year - 1968 New car bonanza 1968 - a bitter pill to swallow Other events - 1969 A new broom sweeps cleanA" A new weapon The season continues ... The Can-Am Challenge - 1970 The 917K The moment of truth - 1971 1971 review The other races - 1972 The World Championship The Interserie season The Can-Am Challeng - 1973 The RSR The season starts The Interserie races Can-Am update - 1974 The Martini cars 1974 review The big bangers - 1975 Index