BLUEBIRD CN7: OCTANE'S BOOK OF THE MONTH

Thanks to Mark Dixon and Richard Helseltine for this months book reviews in Octane magazine. Bluebird CN7 - The inside story of Donald Campbell’s last Land Speed Record car is awarded Book of the Month!
Other brand new Veloce books, 'Mr Big Healey' – The Official Biography of John Chatham & Lancia Delta 4WD/Integrale (Rally Giants Series), are also given positive reviews!

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Click here for more info about the book.

VW BEETLE EBG IPHONE APP DEMO VIDEO

Check out this quick run-through of the VW Beetle - The Essential Buyer's Guide iPhone app!



AVAILABLE NOW through the iTunes App Store. Price: £2.39 UK / $3.99 US.

INTERMECCANICA REVIEWED IN CLASSIC CARS

Intermeccanica – The Story of the Prancing Bull is reviewed in the latest edition of Classic Cars magazine. Check it out here!


Click here for more info about the book.

GOODWOOD CONFIRMS OVER 20 WORLD CHAMPIONS AND 80 DRIVERS AND RIDERS APPEARING AT THE 2010 FESTIVAL OF SPEED

With just over six weeks still to go until the 2010 Festival of Speed blasts into life (2-4 July), Goodwood can already confirm more than 80 star drivers and riders will be present at the world’s largest celebration of motoring culture, including over 20 World Champions who between them have collected more than 70 championship titles.

Reigning Formula One World Champion Jenson Button will be in action up the famous Goodwood hillclimb, as will his McLaren team mate and 2008 World Champion Lewis Hamilton. Joining the McLaren drivers will be fellow 2010 season F1 competitors Mark Webber behind the wheel of his Red Bull, Nico Rosberg in action in his Mercedes, and Bruno Senna, driving his uncle Ayrton’s iconic McLaren MP4/8.

Past F1 champions and Grand Prix winners present at the Festival of Speed are set to include Emerson Fittipaldi, Sir Jackie Stewart, Mika Hakkinen, John Surtees, Sir Stirling Moss, Jochen Mass and Patrick Tambay. Joining these confirmed drivers at Goodwood will be a roll-call of other motor sport stars that reads like a who’s who of motor racing.


From the world of rallying, Festival first-timer Miki Biasion will be reunited with a Lancia Delta; American ‘Gymkhana’ video and current WRC star Ken Block will be going wild in his Ford: 2009 IRS Champion Kris Meeke will be going sideways in his Peugeot; as will IRC rival Guy Wilks in his Skoda. Many other rallying greats will be reacquainted with the cars that made them famous, including Messrs Rauno Aaltonen, Jimmy McRae, Russell Brookes, Björn Waldegård and Markko Martin.

Motorcycling heroes will include Giacomo Agostini, Kevin Schwantz, Chaz Davies, Neil Hodgson and Trevor Nation, plus many others, including 12-time Trials Champion and Goodwood legend Dougie Lampkin. Motor racing legends from across the Pond will include double Daytona 500 winner and NASCAR stalwart Michael Waltrip and three-time Indy 500 victor Bobby Unser.

Press release/image source: Goodwood Motor Circuit

ROY SMITH COLLECTOR OF ALL-THINGS ALPINE

Author of Veloce books, Roy Smith, is photographed on page 53 of the June 2010 edition of Classic & Sports Car magazine.


Roy Smith is a retired company director who has a life long passion for motor sport, and, since 1968, Alpine Renault in particular. He began writing in the 1960s for club magazines, mainly interviews with the notables of the time.

The stunning display (pictured above) of Roy's model collection of Alpine cars ranges from a 4CV-based coupé to R5 Turbos, and includes his super-detailed Provence Moulage kit of the '78 Le Mans-winner.

Roy debuted with Alpine & Renault – The Development of the Revolutionary Turbo F1 Car: 1968 to 1979, followed more recently with Alpine & Renault – The Sports Prototypes – Volume 1: 1963-1969 & Alpine & Renault – The Sports Prototypes – Volume 2: 1973-1978.
He likes to provide a good read to newcomers and hardened enthusiasts alike. He has written many motor sport and Alpine-related articles since 1989 for various magazines, and is the UK historic correspondent for the French magazine Retro Passion and the Alpine Renault magazine, Mille Miles.

Roy has begun work on his next book, which will be entitled Amédée Gordini – a true racing legend scheduled for publication late 2011.

A VW BEETLE EXPERT ON YOUR IPHONE!

Veloce Publishing releases its second iPhone App

VW Beetle - The Essential Buyer's Guide.
Available now from the App Store.
Priced at £2.49 UK / $3.99 USA.
Compatible with iPhone and iPod touch. Requires iPhone OS 3.0 or later.

Features
- STOP! Do not buy a Beetle without the help of this App.
- Great value for money!
- Unique buyer’s guide covering VW Beetles produced between 1945 and 2003.
- Many colour photographs taken especially for this guide.
- Informative text written by enthusiastic experts with the novice in mind.
- In-App videos which feature helpful voiceovers by your marque experts, Ken Cservenka and Richard Copping.
- Invaluable guide to avoiding pitfalls and getting real value for money.
- All aspects of buying a VW Beetle are covered.

Description
A unique App dedicated to VW Beetles built from 1945-2003, including Cabriolet, Standard and Deluxe, 1300 Beetle, 1500 Beetle, 1302S, 1303, and Mexican-built Beetles (from 1978). Meticulously researched with many model-specific photographs reproduced to illustrate genuinely informative advice.

Written by enthusiasts, the easily readable text is informative for the first time buyer, while still being of great value to those who have already owned a Beetle.

Packed with good advice – from running costs, through paperwork, vital statistics, valuation and the VW Beetle community, to will a Beetle fit in your garage and with your lifestyle? – the VW Beetle Essential Buyer's Guide is THE ESSENTIAL GUIDE to choosing, assessing and buying the VW Beetle of your dreams. Buy the right Beetle, at the right price!

Use "VW Beetle" to find the App in the App store.

NORTON COMMANDO

Check out our new blog banner, featuring a lovely shot of an original Fastback, the first Commando. If you fancy owning one then we recommend getting yourself a copy of Norton Commando – The Essential Buyer's Guide!

Having this book in your pocket is just like having a real marque expert by your side. Benefit from the author's years of real ownership experience; learn how to spot a bad Commando quickly and how to assess a promising one like a professional. Get the right bike at the right price!

'MR BIG HEALEY' IN STOCK AND BOOK SIGNING

New! 'Mr Big Healey' – The Official Biography of John Chatham by Norman Burr is out now!

We're delighted to announce that John Chatham will be available to sign copies of the book at MG Live 2010 on both Saturday 5th and Sunday 6th of June at Silverstone.

Thanks to the Austin Healey Club UK for organising the signing.





Leaping in at the start of a driving test in the early 1960s

ICONIC BATMOBILE TRIBUTE AT AUCTION

A tribute to one of the most iconic and distinctive film cars of all time, the Batmobile, will be a focus of attention at the inaugural Historics at Brooklands auction in Surrey on June 2, when a faithfully re-created car goes under the hammer alongside a prestige portfolio of more traditional, first-class classic motor cars.

For one of Historics’ investors, Mark Perkins, the Lot holds particular significance, as he has owned the car since 1988 and is reluctantly parting with it.

One of only three existing steel-bodied versions, Perkins’ Batmobile – complete with dashboard-mounted television, rear parachute pod and Batphone – is accompanied by an extensive clippings file, having made numerous promotional appearances, including the Batman stage show in the United Arab Emirates in 1993, and a number of showings alongside Adam West, star of the original Batman TV show.

Based on a Lincoln Continental chassis and built to a similar specification as the original car in the Sixties, the car was finally completed in 1988, following input from renowned custom coachbuilder, Bill Chaplin. The car is extremely reliable and frequently driven, and is offered with a full year’s MoT test certificate as well as a UK V5 registration document.

Mark Perkins explained his reluctance to let the car go; “Classic cars, and this one in particular, should be driven to be enjoyed, and I’ve loved taking it on the road over the years. However, my work with Historics at Brooklands will leave me little time to do so in the future, and so sadly it’s time someone else derived pleasure of ownership.”

For more information, and to attend the Historics at Brooklands auction on the evening of June 2, call 0800 988 3838, e-mail: auctions@historics.co.uk, or see the website, www.historics.co.uk. Entry by catalogue only, available prior to, or on the evening.

Press release & image source: Historics at Brooklands

If you like classic cars in TV & film you'll love Motor Movies – The Posters!

"Be warned: a peek and you could be hooked. ‘Motor Movies – The Posters!’ is a collector’s delight, any way you choose." – Overdrive

More info.

'WORTHY OF THE JULES RIMET TROPHY'

The Daily Mirror World Cup Rally 40 – The World’s Toughest Rally in Retrospect by Graham Robson is BOOK OF THE MONTH in the June 2010 issue of Classic & Sports Car!

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REVIEW OF ALPINE & RENAULT 2 VOLUME SET

Thanks to Classic Cars magazine for this review of Alpine & Renault – The Sports Prototypes – Volume 1: 1963-1969 & Alpine & Renault – The Sports Prototypes – Volume 2: 1973-1978.

GRAHAM ROBSON AND GUESTS

Part 1: Graham Robson talks to Rod Grainger, Paddy Hopkirk, Gavin Thompson, Patrick Walker, Brian Culcheth, and Bill Meade at the 40th anniversary of The Daily Mirror 1970 World Cup Rally held at Dagenham Motors showroom, Alperton, Wembley, London 20/4/2010.



Part 2: With Tony Mason, Paul Easter, Bill Barnett, Alan Grainge, Mike Scarlett and Alan Zafer.

The Daily Mirror World Cup Rally 40 – The World’s Toughest Rally in Retrospect by Graham Robson.
Continuing for 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, the 1970 World Cup Rally was a unique high-speed event, attracting many serious works teams such as Ford and British Leyland.
Despite the tremendous amounts of money spent choosing and developing new cars, completing months-long route surveys, and analysing every detail of diets, oxygen provision, and the number of crew members, out of an entry of more than 100 cars, only 23 cars made it to the finish.
It was then, and remains now, the toughest rally of all time. More info.

VW BUS APP RECEIVES 5-STAR REVIEWS

VW Bus – The Essential Buyer's Guide iPhone App is reviewed in the App store.

Well-researched and well-written - ★★★★★

by HerbieSyufy - Version 1.0 - 10 April 2010 (US App store)

Someone obviously put a lot of care and thought into this app. My wife and I used it before buying our first VW bus. Now we have TWO buses!

Great app and a must for all potential VW camper owners - ★★★★★

by LardElvis - Version 1.0 - 25 March 2010 (UK App store)

If you are in the market for a VW van or just have a general interest in these vehicles then this is the app for you. I bought it as I am intending on buying a camper (yearning back to my youth before the kids arrived!) and I must say that Ken and Richard really know their stuff. The app is packed with lots of really useful information -everything from how much it is likely to cost and run a bus through to things to look out for when buying. If only i had this first time around and i wouldn't have had to replace the engine! There are several videos (actually still pictures with commentaries) but these too are packed full of information and great photographs and are delivered with both humour and authority. Okay, it does not contain as much information as the book, but as something you can just pick up and read through on a long train journey or just to look at the pictures and dream, it is good value for money. Well done guys. Now do you know where i can get a really cheap VW camper.....?