BOOKS
GiorgioPiantacertainlyliveda life, having
hada handin allmannerof Italian machines
as botha testdriveranda racer-turned team
manager.It is allcollectedandcelebrated
in thisdual-languagepaperback by Abarth
andLanciahigh-flierSergioLimone and
journalistLucaGastaldi,viathe Pianta
familyanditscomprehensivearchive of
imageryleftbythelateGiorgio.
The result is a chronologicalaccountof hislifeand(lap)times,
from his NSU Prinz andhisparentslearningof hisracing exploits
on television to developingtheLanciaRally 037 andthe1990s
Alfa Romeo 155 TouringCarsgame-changer.
This book presumablyreadsbetterin Italianthanit does in
English, but that shouldn’tputyouoff.Photographsof his early
career lead to the Monte,theOpelrecordcar,single-seaters and
works drives with AbarthandLancia.Thejoyis theseemingly
unrelenting variety ofcaranddiscipline.JP
€29 Sergio Limone & LucaGastaldi,LucaGastaldi.ISBN 979 12 200 4354 0
Theworldis hardlyshortof Mini books in
its60th-anniversaryyear,butroom should
bemadeonenthusiasts’shelvesfor C&SC
arteditorPort’slarge-formatsoftback.
Porthasbroughthisdesigner’s eye to
theprojectas wellas hisknowledge (and
his experience as a multipleMiniowner),andtheresultis a book that
captures the essential joyof theMinibetterthanmostdry histories.
As the title suggests, theimagesdominate– butthat’snot to say there
isn’t plenty of information,andswappinga traditionallong-form
style for bite-sized chunksmakesit allhighlyaccessible.
After a foreword fromMinirallyinglegendPaddyHopkirk, Port
sets the scene with theMini’sjourneyfromconcepttoproduction,
before moving on to detailedmodeldevelopment,special versions,
merchandise and competitionsuccess,thenfinallybringing the story
bang up to date with BMW’smaxi-Minis,includingthelatest electric
version. Throughout,a delightfultouchis providedbynews items
and cultural commentarytosettheMiniin context.
If there is a quibble,someof thecaptionscouldbemore detailed,
but the imagery itself issuperb:a mixtureof archiveshots, brochures
and more recent photographyensuringa brightandcheerful feel,
aided by excellent reproduction.Onlythebrillianceof Simon Taylor’s
magnum opus
prevents this
top-value debut
beingour Book of
themonth. AC
£20Martin Port,
Porter Press. ISBN
9781 907085 94 9
Theword‘comprehensive’is inadequate to
describe this one-model labour of love, which
lives up to its Complete Story billing. Starting
with a 15-page marque history to put the
XJ-S in context, it details its development as
project XJ27 – the behind-the-scenes images
of this process being the most intriguing
of the book’s 190 photographs.
When you reach the expected focus on the production XJ-S, it’s
augmented by press cuttings and interesting asides – remember the
Barbie car? – as well as the no-stone-unturned technical and trim
specifications. Want serial numbers, UK prices and US sales figures?
They’re here. Its motorsport career features, too, as does a fine buyer’s
guide – the latter (and the specs) where the book’s value really lies. LP
£25 James Taylor, Crowood. ISBN 978 1 78500 583 1
Giorgio Pianta
Mini Scrapbook
Jaguar XJ-S
WWW.HORTONSBOOKS.CO.UK