Graham Robson – författare

A concise, illustrated history of the classic British car.When launched in 1962, the Ford Cortina was an entirely new type of British car. Compared with its rivals – and with earlier Fords – it was light yet strong, inexpensive yet roomy, mechanically simple and cheap to maintain. It quickly established a totally new class of car and once it was seen to be a success there was a rush to emulate it. More than a million of the original-style cars were made, and after twenty years well over four million Cortinas had been produced. There were saloons, estate cars, sporty models, and even special machines ready for motor racing – something for everyone, everywhere.This book tells the story of the impact of the innovative Cortina design, how it developed through to the 1980s and its success in the world of motorsport.

Born in 1952, the Austin-Healey 100 soon took the UK and US markets by storm. A beautiful, brutish car, it was what many sporting motorists had been waiting for, and at a relatively affordable price. Following the 100, was the 3000 - a car as successful on the rally stage as it was loved on the open road, and the Sprite - which recreated the market for the cheap 'everyman's' sports car. Graham Robson, an authority on the British motor industry, presents a concise history of Austin-Healey, and the marque's success on road and track. Illustrated throughout, it is an ideal introduction for all lovers of this quintessentially British sports car.

Sir William Lyons enjoyed a seemingly unstoppable rise to fame and fortune in the motor industry, and the Jaguar brand that he introduced became world-famous. Yet it did not happen overnight. In the 1920s he was in Blackpool, styling motorcycle sidecars, and in the 1930s in Coventry developing the SS motor car, with the stand-alone Jaguar company not appearing until 1945. The company's success was aided by the amazing new XK engine of 1948, by motor racing success at Le Mans, and by the stunning styling of cars like the XK120, the Mk 2 saloons and the extraordinary E-Type. Graham Robson here explores the history of the Jaguar company and its many classic marques.

In the 1950s and 1960s, British sports car ruled the road, and their charge was led by Triumphs. From the TR2, its first modern sports car, Triumph went on to produce a host of classic sports designs such as the Spitfire, GT, and Stag, as well as more TR models, ending with the TR7 in the late 1970s. These represented the epitome of the contemporary classic British sports car. Fast, nimble, and gorgeous to behold, Triumphs offered the everyday motorist an exhilarating drive at a price that they could afford. Popular both in the UK and the US, the Triumph range helped define the entire genre, with sports cars today like the Mazda MX-5 having their roots in models like the Stag. Illustrated throughout and written by acclaimed motoring writer and historian Graham Robson, this book guides the reader through the history of this classic British marque from its heyday in the 1960s and 1970s through to its eventual demise in the 1980s.

When world rallying introduced a new formula for ‘World Rally Cars,’ Ford needed a completely new car to meet the new rules. Malcolm Wilson’s M-Sport organisation, then small but soon to expand considerably, was contracted to do the job, completed the design in less than a year, and spent the next 12 years campaigning this turbocharged four-wheel-drive car all round the world.Working from state-of-the-art premises at Dovenby Hall, near Cockermouth, in Cumbria, M-Sport built a total of no fewer than 97 Focus WRCs, which were always competitive at World level, this being proved by the fact that they won 44 World Championship events. In that time, stellar drivers such as Colin McRae, Carlos Sainz, Markko Märtin, Marcus Grönholm and Mikko Hirvonen all added to the mystique of an ultra-professional organisation, along with substantial support, and sponsorship, from the drinks giant Martini, the oil company BP (and its major subsidiary Castrol), and the state of Abu Dhabi.In building up its own in-house technical expertise, M-Sport not only engineered and developed the entire car on behalf of Ford, but gradually took over development (and eventually manufacture) of the 300bhp 2.0-litre turbocharged engine, and led the design of the complex four-wheel-drive transmissions provided, at first, by Xtrac, and later by Ricardo.M-Sport’s reputation within the sport of rallying was such that, when the regulations once again changed, the company was immediately able to produce a new-generation Fiesta WRC, and continue with its winning ways.

When Fiat entered rallying in 1970, its ultimate aim was to become World Rally Champion – and the 131 Abarth of 1976-1980 provided the machinery to make that possible. Within the Fiat-Lancia empire, the 131 Abarth not only replaced the 124 Abarth Spider sports car, but was also favoured ahead of the charismatic Lancia Stratos. By 1970s standards, the 131 Abarth was the most extreme, and effective, of all homologation specials. Compared with the 131 family car on which it was originally based, it had different engine, transmission and suspension layouts, was backed by big budgets and by a team of superstar drivers, and was meant to win all round the world.Not only did it start winning World rallies within months of being launched, but in 1977, 1978 and 1980 the 'works' team also won the World Championship for Makes, and set every standard by which Rally Giants were to be judged. The 131 Abarth was backed by a peerless team of engineers, so was there ever any doubt that successors like the Lancia Rally 037 and the Delta Integrale would eventually come from the same stable?

After the first ever intercontinental rally – the London-Sydney in 1968 – there was widespread enthusiasm for an even more difficult test. With the Football World Cup being held in Mexico in 1970, it was the perfect opportunity to hold a parallel, much tougher challenge – the World Cup Rally. Organisers John Sprinzel and John Brown secured sponsorship from the Daily Mirror and planned a unique high-speed event, lasting six weeks and covering 16,000 miles from London to Mexico City via some of the most varying, tortuous and difficult terrain on three continents.Serious works teams such as Ford and British Leyland spent tremendous amounts choosing and developing new cars, completing months-long route surveys, and analysing every detail of diets, oxygen provision, and the number of crew members. Despite all this planning, out of an entry of more than 100, only 23 cars made it to the finish. It was then, and remains now, the toughest rally of all time.This book, now reprinted in paperback, tells the complete story.

The complete story of the front-wheel-drive Saab 96 made the brand into a rally icon in the 1960s. Superstar driving from Erik Carlsson, his wife Pat Moss-Carlsson and – later – from Stig Blomqvist, all brought real publicity and admiration for a car that always lacked the sheer straight-line performance of its rivals.Saabs like this, however, never wanted for strength, or for amazing handling and traction, and they succeeded in events as diverse as the Monte Carlo, Britain's RAC rally, special stage events in every Scandinavian country, and the rough-and-tough Spa-Sofia-Liege Marathon.The big change came in 1967, when the 96 became the V4, looking almost the same as before, but with a new and more powerful four-stroke Ford-Germany V4 engine. Works cars continued to be competitive in carefully chosen events for many years, and it was only the arrival of much more specialised rivals that made them outdated. Saab, though, was not finished with rallying, as the V4's successors, the much larger and more powerful 99 and 99 Turbo types, proved. More than any other car of its era, the 96 and V4 models proved that front-wheel-drive allied to true superstar driving could produce victory where no-one expected it.

This book describes the birth, development and rallying career of the Lancia Stratos, Europe’s very first purpose-built rally car, in the mid/late 1970s. It provides a compact and authoritative history of where, when and how it became so important to the sport, as well as telling the story of the team. The book is part of Graham Robson’s definitive “Rally Giants” series, published by Veloce.

This new edition explores all aspects of the M3’s history, including the race and rally successes worldwide, supported by full and detailed specifications for each generation of the model. It expands on the previous edition, to bring the story right up to the present day, with details of all models produced between 2013 and 2021, including the new M4.Developed in the 1980s, the BMW M3 was intended to be the world’s most successful racing saloon car. Not only did it achieve that in its very first season of motorsport, but went on to achieve lasting commercial success as a high performance road car.Fully illustrated throughout, with a lavish array of colour photographs and magnificently detailed cutaway drawings of mechanical equipment, this comprehensive and authoritative book is a must for all BMW M3 and M4 enthusiasts.

Now in paperback, the complete history of British international rally events, starting with the very first RAC rally of 1932, which included 1000 miles of road motoring, when a mere three driving tests were needed to produce a result. By 1951 an international permit had been achieved, a speed element was included, and the ‘Rally of the Tests’ ran until 1960. From 1961, the event took on a number of high-speed, loose-surfaced Special Stages, the Scandinavian influence became clear, and the event took on a World Championship qualification in 1973. In that time, competing cars had progressed from having perhaps 50bhp to at least 300bhp, and even more high-tech machines with 500bhp and four-wheel-drive would follow.By then the RAC Rally was – and remains in its present form as Wales Rally GB – one of the three most important rallies in the world. Every ‘works’ team makes sure that it is represented, and it has a very important image throughout the world. Major sponsors embraced the event from the 1960s – first The Sun and Daily Mirror, then Lombard, and Network Q, and finally the Welsh government – which in recent years has become a very high-profile showcase for the world’s most exciting cars. Few other British International events have such a long and distinguished record. The 75th running of this event takes place in 2019.With year-by-year accounts of all events in the Rally’s history, copiously illustrated with period photographs, and covering the various challenges posed by such crises as foot and mouth disease, weather conditions and controversy over rules and regulations, this book is the definitive guide.

From the early 1930s until the mid-1970s the Rootes Group was one of Britain’s foremost car manufacturers, producing and selling a multitude of models under the Hillman, Humber, Singer, Sunbeam and Sunbeam-Talbot badges. Some of these cars have been the subject of individual model histories, but this is the first book to bring the total Rootes model line together in one major reference book.Written by one of Britain’s most able car historians, the late Graham Robson, this book has now been reprinted for future generations to enjoy. It covers the company’s history, and details all the major marques within the Rootes Group. The book looks at the overall marketing strategies as well as the widespread use of common components across the range. Individual descriptions of each model built results in a book of great breadth and absorbing interest, that will be welcomed back by all classic car enthusiasts.

In this definitive history of the Rover company, Graham Robson traces the history of the iconic British car brand right back to the Starley family’s Coventry-made bicycles of the 1870s, through to 1988. Delving deeply into the records and talking to many people who have been connected with Rover cars since the 1930s, he unfolds a fascinating account of the men who directed the company’s fortunes, of their vision and of their occasional lapses. The company’s impressive record is analysed here in this probing, truthful yet affectionate look at one of the greatest names in the British motor industry.

From 1967 to 1983, the Ford Cosworth DFV engine reigned supreme in Formula 1, powering cars to 13 Drivers’ Championships in just 16 seasons. Grand Prix Ford dives deep into the remarkable story of this revolutionary engine and the powerful partnership between Lotus, Ford, and Cosworth that brought it to life.Written by the late Graham Robson — one of the UK’s most respected motorsport historians — and inspired by a concept by fellow historian Anthony Pritchard, this book captures the DFV’s dominance with clarity and authority. It’s not just about engines: it’s about the people, the teams, the victories, and the evolution of a motorsport legend.Tracks the DFV's development from Lotus's exclusive use in 1967 to widespread dominance across teams like McLaren, Matra, and Williams.Includes technical insight into engine design, performance advances, and the role of specialist rebuilders.Analyzes rivalries and resistance from Ferrari and others — and why they couldn’t hold back DFV-powered teams.Explores the DFV’s legacy through its turbocharged and evolved descendants: DFX, DFY, DFZ, and DFR.Features over 300 rare and archival images, many from Ford’s own historical archives.For any reader passionate about motorsport history, Grand Prix Ford is the definitive tribute to the engine that powered a golden era. Get under the hood of Formula 1’s most iconic breakthrough.

This new edition explores BMW's M3 and M4, including the development history and their race and rally successes worldwide, supported by full and detailed specifications for each generation. It expands on the previous edition to bring the story right up to the present day, with details of all models produced up to the end of 2025.Developed in the 1980s, the BMW M3 was intended to be the world’s most successful racing saloon car. Not only did it achieve that in its very first season of motorsport, but went on to achieve lasting commercial success as a high-performance road car.The first M4 cars were launched in 2014. Although they shared the same chassis/platform and all their running gear with the new M3 Saloon, the new cars had completely fresh two-door bodyshells, with even more high-tech solutions. This highly desirable sportier model, in both coupé and convertible forms, along with model variants and special editions are explored in detail.Fully illustrated throughout, with a lavish array of colour photographs and magnificently detailed cutaway drawings of mechanical equipment, this comprehensive and authoritative book is a must for all BMW M3 and M4 enthusiasts.Originally penned by Graham Robson, this new edition was updated by fellow historian Brian Long, and includes all the recent models, developments and motorsport action.

This is a comprehensive study of the career of one type of rally car – the BMC Mini-Cooper/Mini-Cooper S. In the 1960s the Mini became famous as Britain's most successful rally car. It combined superb handling, a tiny body shell, high-performance engines and the excellence of front-wheel-drive in an irresistible package. Not only this, but the works team included famous drivers like Paddy Hopkirk, Timo Makinen and Rauno Aaltonen.The works Minis not only won the Monte Carlo three times – 1964, 1965 and 1967 – along with the European Rally Championship in 1965, but also won events all over the world. Because Minis were British, and well-promoted, they became seen as giant-killers, and were the people's favourite for many years. The car outpaced many of its rivals, and this book examines exactly who they were, and how they came to be defeated by the ‘mighty Mini.'Even today, works Minis appear at every gathering of classic cars, demonstrating their enduring appeal. Packed with over 100 photographs, this book is a fitting and timely tribute to a much-loved Rally Giant.

Not only has Cosworth designed and supplied many race car engines, which won F1, CART, and many other Championship races, but it has also produced many celebrated high-performance road-car engines. In more recent times, its growing expertise in developing electronic data capture components, and in providing ultra-high-tech engine manufacturing facilities, has made it a world leader. The expansion continues, and in this book the Cosworth story has been brought up-to-the-minute to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the birth of the legendary DFV F1 engine.

It was code-named X100 and it was to be Jaguar's latest sports cars, featuring both coupe and convertible coachwork. It was to have an all-new V8 engine and it was to replace the XJS. It would also ultimately have the most powerful forced-induction engine of any production Jaguar road card and it had a lot riding on its success. It was the XK8 - a sleek, purposeful grand tourer in the Jaguar tradition.

This title provides a unique combination of the law and practice of housing law. It offers readers a detailed yet accessible analysis of the most important areas of housing law that practitioners currently encounter. The context of each topic is considered, as well as the lawyer's role, case strategies, legal funding and client care issues. Useful source and precedent materials are included.Housing law practitioners, LPC students and law degree students studying housing law will find this text invaluable.

The Mk1 and Mk2 Escorts were humble family cars that ended up as highly successful competition cars, both on the rally stage and the race track. Car by car, this book covers all Ford's works cars. Between 1968 and 1981 the Ford Escort was probably the most successful rally car in the world. Rallying became progressively more glamorous, the teams and drivers more famous, and the cars became more colourful, in that period. The Ford-UK factory and its closest associates built no fewer than 113 Mk I cars of all types (1968 to 1974), and 55 Mk 2 cars (1975 to 1981). This new book covers all of these vehicles, car-by-car detailing build details, colour schemes, competition history, technical development. Every individual car is illustrated in its principal liveries using archive pictures and several of the more important cars have been specially photographed in great detail.

Between 1953 and 1980 the Triumph competitions department produced more than 150 ''works'' competition cars for race and rally. These included TR2, TR3 and TR3A, the TR3S, TRS and Conrero race cars, Herald and Vitesse, TR4, 2000, Spitfire and GT6R, 2.5 PI, Dolomite and Sprint, TR7 and TR7 V8. In addition they prepared Standard Eight, Ten, Pennant, and Phase III Vanguard for competition. Viewed overall, what stands out as the remarkable feature of the work of the department was that they achieved such a degree of success with relatively ordinary production cars, from 803cc saloons upwards. Author Graham Robson was manager of the Standard-Triumph competitions department in the early 1960s and himself supervised the development and management of the works TR4s, Spitfires and 2000s. Here he provides information on each and every one of the works cars of the whole 1953-80 period, with details of their specifications, entries, drivers and careers, accompanied in nearly all cases by archive photographs. In addition there is specially commissioned colour photography of important surviving examples.

Graham Robson is the doyen of writers on rallying. His new book joins his respected Works Triumphs and Works Escorts in our list. Here he tells of the story of Donald Healey’s introduction of the cars of his own make into the world of rallying and racing, from the Healey Elliott and Westland of the late 1940s through to the last racing Austin-Healey Sprite in 1967. In between he produced competition versions of the Austin-Healey 100 and 100S, the 100-6 and the gloriously successful 3000, a brutal and wayward machine that won countless international rallies in the 1960s in the hands of great drivers like Pat Moss,Timo Makinen, Rauno Aaltonen and Paddy Hopkirk, to name but a few.The author describes the career of each of the works cars individually: entries, drivers and results, with nearly all cars illustrated. In addition there is detailed colour photography of important surviving examples