BOOKS
The hunchbacks of La Sarthe
A lavish publication applauds Bristol’s endurance racers by weighing in big on size and quality, says Gordon Cruickshank
Bristol 450 team at
Le Mans in 1954. Despite promise, racing proved too costly a distraction
They’re among the ugliest cars ever to compete at Le Mans but they appear here in one of the most beautiful books I’ve seen. Not only is it vast but many photos run across a complete spread, while the pages themselves are of thick cream paper with large elegant type which makes each page rather beautiful.
Bristol-born motoring journalist Simon Charlesworth depicts the world around the race, referencing everything from Coco Chanel to Perry Como to The Titfield Thunderbolt. But as his interest is primarily aerodynamic, he highlights the streamlined Adler Trumpf and BMWs that ran at Le Mans pre-war and points out the Alfa Romeo that nearly won in 1938 would have been the first closed victor. By 1952, he notes, half of the Le Mans grid carried enclosed bodywork. The combination of small engine and reduced drag was making its mark in the smaller classes.