AUTOMOBILES ELEGANCE ON WHEELS

Since the first models rolled off the assembly line in the early 20th century, automobiles have generated very varied feelings: for inventors they represented a vision; for builders they meant unlimited potential. And for whoever was lucky enough to own one, they meant realization of the dream and achieving an unquestioned status. This volume is a fabulous photographic catalogue of a range of important and influential models throughout a century of auto history. The vehicles presented in these pages are still today unrivalled objects of design. Detailed studio images taken by one of the world's most famous automobile photographers dramatically present the exceptional characteristics that make each car a work of art, while the brief yet incisive commentary narrates the background and the anecdotes associated with each model. The volume is divided into five chapters, each one dedicated to a specific quality that determines a model?s success: the fun factor, prestige, speed, power, and beauty.

The first group, cars that are fun to drive, includes such memorable vehicles as the 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air, the 1973 De Tomaso Pantera, and many more. The prestige cars include the elegant 1930 Rolls Royce Boattail Convertible, and the 1964 Aston Martin DB5. The speed group includes the superfast 1958 Chevrolet Corvette, the 2004 Porsche Carrera GT, and the 2007 Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano. The power group looks at such high horsepower models as the 1967 Shelby Cobra 427 Convertible, the 1985 Lamborghini Countach, and the 2003 Enzo Ferrari. The fifth group ? beauty and design ? presents the 1938 Bugatti Type 57C, and the 1992 and 2008 Dodge Vipers. The volume's concluding section presents a portfolio of technical sheets for each model in the book; they are classified according to the five main themes.