Motorbooks' Speed Read series celebrates every aspect of the original pony car—the Ford Mustang—from the key people like Lee Iacocca and Carroll Shelby to the racing success to the cars themselves. Get a full look at every iconic Mustang model, from the first car to bear the name that became the fastest selling car of all time, to the astounding 526-horsepower supercar Mustang produces today. In sections divided by topic, you'll explore the design and launch of the first Mustang at the 1964 World's Fair; a history of every generation of Mustang; the various body styles, options, and accessories; a review of the performance models; a profile of Carroll Shelby and the Mustangs he designed; special editions, like the Sprint, ASC/McLaren, and police pursuit vehicles; and, of course, the Mustang's racing legacy. Each section ends with a glossary of related terms, and informational sidebars provide fun facts, historical tidbits, and mini-bios of key people in Mustang history. Sleek illustrations showcase Mustangs in their many forms. With Motorbooks’ Speed Read series, become an instant expert in a range of fast-moving subjects, from Formula 1 racing to the Tour de France. Accessible language, compartmentalized sections, fact-filled sidebars, glossaries of key terms, and event timelines deliver quick access to insider knowledge. Their brightly colored covers, modern design, pop art–inspired illustrations, and handy size make them perfect on-the-go reads.

This beautifully designed and illustrated essential guide to Porsche 911 from Motorbooks' Speed Read series explores the ins and outs of one of the world’s premier sports cars; see what makes it tick, what makes it work, and how it managed to win so many titles and championships. Author Wayne Dempsey examines the creation and design of Porsche’s rear-engined wonder, providing an inside look into every aspect of the 911. In sections divided by topic, you'll explore the evolution of the 911 from its initial design to its current form, the story of Porsche 911's racing success, tales of some of the greatest 911s ever produced, and the passionate community that has evolved around the 911 from its earliest days. Each section ends with a glossary of related terms, and informational sidebars provide fun facts, historical tidbits, and mini-bios of key people. Sleek illustrations brilliantly capture the 911 in its many elegant forms. With Motorbooks’ Speed Read series, become an instant expert in a range of fast-moving subjects, from Formula 1 racing to the Tour de France. Accessible language, compartmentalized sections, fact-filled sidebars, glossaries of key terms, and event timelines deliver quick access to insider knowledge. Their brightly colored covers, modern design, pop art–inspired illustrations, and handy size make them perfect on-the-go reads.

This beautifully designed and illustrated essential guide to the Tour de France from Motorbooks' Speed Read series will make you an instant expert on its history, its winners and rivalries, the tactics necessary to win it, and the technology of its bicycles. Le Tour has sometimes been called “chess on wheels” because of the complicated strategies used by the race's 22 teams and 176 riders. This book—written by award-winning cycling journalist John Wilcockson, who has covered the Tour 45 times—will help you understand those tactics, along with informing you about the race’s century-plus history, its famed winners and rivalries, and the technology that has gone into creating the modern racing bicycle and determining how today’s athletes train. Among the questions answered are: Who owns the Tour? How are the course’s 21 stages selected? What are the most famous mountain climbs? How is the overall winner determined? What is a peloton, a soigneur, or an echelon? How big are the prizes? What are time bonuses? Who was the first American to compete in the Tour, and who was the first one to win it? How fast do the racers go down mountain descents? What speeds can the riders reach in sprint finishes? Why are the teams known by the names of their sponsors and not their countries? What do the riders eat, and where do they sleep every night? What are all those motorcycles doing among the cyclists? How do the organizers deal with doping scandals? And is it true that, one year, the top four finishers were all disqualified? You will find the answers to all these questions, and many more, in this informative, beautifully illustrated, fun-to-read book: Speed Read Tour de France. With Motorbooks’ Speed Read series, become an instant expert in a range of fast-moving subjects, from Formula 1 racing to car design. Accessible language, compartmentalized sections, fact-filled sidebars, glossaries of key terms, and event timelines deliver quick access to insider knowledge. Their brightly colored covers, modern design, pop art–inspired illustrations, and handy size make them perfect on-the-go reads.

From Motorbooks' beautifully designed and illustrated Speed Read series, Speed Read Supercar guides you through every aspect of these imagination-capturing, eye-widening, land-bound speed missiles. When Lamborghini unleashed its Miura on an unsuspecting world in 1966, it set off a high-performance arms race that continues to this day. Ferrari, Maserati, Jaguar, Porsche, and Lotus all accepted the challenge. Over the following five decades, numerous others stepped up, including stalwarts like Aston Martin, BMW, and Audi, as well as small-volume specialists such as Koenigsegg, Pagani, Noble, and Spyker. The result is a veritable smorgasbord of blazingly fast and delicious-looking land missiles available to anyone with several hundred thousand dollars to spare. Supercars are complex subjects that interest nearly everyone. Every part of a supercar represents myriad decisions informed by engineering, aesthetics, human interface, and emotion. Speed Read Supercar answers the hows and whys of these fantastic cars in sections divided by topic, offering an engaging review of history, engineering, design, key concepts, and key people. Each section ends with a glossary of related terms, and informational sidebars provide fun facts, historical tidbits, and mini-bios of key people in the supercar world. Sleek illustrations showcase the incredible designs. With Motorbooks’ Speed Read series, become an instant expert in a range of fast-moving subjects, from Formula 1 racing to the Tour de France. Accessible language, compartmentalized sections, fact-filled sidebars, glossaries of key terms, and event timelines deliver quick access to insider knowledge. Their brightly colored covers, modern design, pop art–inspired illustrations, and handy size make them perfect on-the-go reads.

This beautifully designed and illustrated essential guide to Ferrari from Motorbooks' Speed Read series celebrates the world's premier performance-car manufacturer, from the first complete car Enzo Ferrari constructed in 1940—the Auto Avio Costruzioni—to masterpieces produced by Ferrari today. Author Preston Lerner covers 50-plus aspects key to understanding Ferrari's amazing history, including both racing and production cars, design and technology, and the personal histories of key figures. In sections divided by topic, you'll explore the story of Ferrari's founding; descriptions and critiques of over 25 different Ferrari models, including the milestone racers, lust-inspiring road cars, and dominating F1, sports, and prototype racecars; profiles of the most famous Ferrari drivers; recaps of Ferrari's most memorable racing wins; and a survey of all the stylists, coachbuilders, engineers, salesmen, and executives who have contributed to Ferrari's success. Each section ends with a glossary of related terms, and informational sidebars provide fun facts, historical tidbits, and mini-bios of key people in Ferrari history. Sleek illustrations of the cars bring the evolution of the company to life. With Motorbooks’ Speed Read series, become an instant expert in a range of fast-moving subjects, from Formula 1 racing to the Tour de France. Accessible language, compartmentalized sections, fact-filled sidebars, glossaries of key terms, and event timelines deliver quick access to insider knowledge. Their brightly colored covers, modern design, pop art–inspired illustrations, and handy size make them perfect on-the-go reads.

The Complete Book of Ford Mustang, 4th Edition details the development, technical specifications, and history of America’s original pony car, now updated to cover cars through the 2021 model year.

p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Arial} Without question, the 1964-1/2 Mustang is one of the most important and influential cars in automotive history. When Ford launched the Mustang, it created an automotive revolution. Award-winning designer and stylist Gale Halderman was at the epicenter of the action at Ford, and, in fact, his initial design sketch formed the basis of the new Mustang. He reveals his involvement in the project as well as telling the entire story of the design and development of the Mustang. Authors and Mustang enthusiasts James Dinsmore and James Halderman go beyond the front doors at Ford into the design center, testing grounds, and Ford facilities to get the real, unvarnished story. Gale Halderman offers a unique behind-the-scenes perspective and firsthand account of the inception, design, development, and production of the original Mustang. With stinging losses from the Edsel fresh in minds at Ford, the Mustang project was an uphill battle from day one. Lee Iacocca and his assembled team had a herculean task to convince Henry Ford II to take a risk on a new concept of automobile, but with the help of Hal Sperlich’s detailed market research, the project received the green light. Henry Ford II made it clear that jobs were on the line, including Iacocca’s, if it failed. The process of taking a car from sketch to clay model to prototype to preproduction and finally finished model is retraced in insightful detail. During the process, many fascinating experimental cars, such as the Mustang I two-seater, Mustang II prototype, Mustang Allegro, and Shorty, were built. But eventually the Mustang, based on the existing Ford Falcon, received the nod for final production. In a gala event, it was unveiled at the 1964 World’s Fair in New York. The Mustang received public accolades and critical acclaim, and soon it became a runaway hit. After the initial success, Ford designers and Gale Halderman designed and developed the first fastback Mustangs to compliment the coupes. The classic Mustang muscle cars to follow, including the GT, Mach 1, and others, are profiled as well. The Mustang changed automotive history and ushered in the pony car era as a nimble, powerful, and elegantly styled sports coupe. But it could so easily have stumbled and wound up on the scrap pile of failed new projects. This is the remarkable and dramatic story of how the Mustang came to life, the demanding design and development process, and, ultimately, the triumph of the iconic American car.